Cookouts, parades, beer and fireworks remain at the center of Americans' Fourth of July celebrations. Here's a look at some of the ways people around the country are spending the Independence Day holiday weekend.
Proslava Dana nezavisnosti
![The Washington Monument is seen past a float during the National Independence Day Parade in Washington, July 4, 2023.](https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-c0a8-0242-a951-08db7cd30b34_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
1
The Washington Monument is seen past a float during the National Independence Day Parade in Washington, July 4, 2023.
![An actor impersonating Benjamin Franklin reads the Declaration of Independence on Independence Day at George Washington's Mount Vernon in Mount Vernon, Virginia, July 4, 2023.](https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0a00-0242-00f9-08db7cb235cf_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
2
An actor impersonating Benjamin Franklin reads the Declaration of Independence on Independence Day at George Washington's Mount Vernon in Mount Vernon, Virginia, July 4, 2023.
![Maddie Miller, of Tampa, Florida, raises her head during the World Famous Key Lime Pie Eating Championship, In Key West, Florida, July 4, 2023. (Rob O'Neal/Florida Keys News Bureau via AP)](https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-c0a8-0242-53d4-08db7cd30b1b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
3
Maddie Miller, of Tampa, Florida, raises her head during the World Famous Key Lime Pie Eating Championship, In Key West, Florida, July 4, 2023. (Rob O'Neal/Florida Keys News Bureau via AP)
![New U.S. citizens recite the Pledge of Allegiance after being sworn in during a naturalization ceremony on Independence Day at George Washington's Mount Vernon in Mount Vernon, Virginia, July 4, 2023.](https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0a00-0242-e59b-08db7cb235ce_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
4
New U.S. citizens recite the Pledge of Allegiance after being sworn in during a naturalization ceremony on Independence Day at George Washington's Mount Vernon in Mount Vernon, Virginia, July 4, 2023.