We caught the tail end of a community picnic so that we could hear the local symphony play 1812 Overture. (We have fond memories of our high school sax/jazz kid, also a pianist who could read music, being recruited to play the “cannon” drum.)
It was great. We were not close enough to see canon logistics… but there was gunsmoke visible. Something different from 1976 - after the last dramatic booms, a bunch of car alarms went off.
My 50th high school class reunion is next week. I remember missing homecoming to go to Philadelphia with my father, who was attending the National Conference of State Legislatures. He let me loose in the city, where I found the Liberty Bell and Wanemaker’s Department Store. I remember being approached by the “Moonies”, a religious cult. When we got back home to Minnesota, our hotel was in the headlines because a group of Legionaires, came down with a respiratory illness.
I’ve seen smaller orchestras that couldn’t use/afford a real cannon have the audience yell BOOM at the appropriate moments when the conductor points at them. Looks like fun!
I once discovered that the reason the balcony seats with the great view were available for such a low price was because we turned out to be sitting next to the cannon that I hadn’t noticed until that moment. 
@stradmom -that’s what we did at the Pops concert here on Friday evening. My friends and I had a lot of fun doing that!
I was preparing for my wedding. Yes, this year will be our 50th anniversary, can’t believe how time flies.
We went to the see the Tall Ships from the Palisades in NJ. And then probably to my town’s fireworks, which were always fun. Fifty years later, went to see the tall ship parade from Liberty State Park. It was great, although a bit disappointing that the ships hugged the NYC shoreline rather than the middle of the river or coming closer to NJ. And it was incredibly hot! But still was great to see the ships and the flyovers.