‘Let Freedom Ring’ to kick off Fourth of July Celebration

By Deborah Rose

The Town of New Milford will play host to its annual Fourth of July Celebration July 6.

The event is coordinated by the Greater New Milford Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Town.

The celebration will feature a special opening ceremony and the signing of a life-sized Declaration of Independence, free cupcakes from the Woman’s Club of Greater New Milford, music, and a fireworks display.

A rain date of July 13 is set for the fireworks only.

Festivities will begin at 5:30 p.m. near the bandstand on the Village Green with a special “Let Freedom Ring” flag and bell-ringing ceremony sponsored by the New Milford Celebrates America 250 Committee.

The ceremony, held in partnership with the Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, will take place on the steps of the Roger Sherman Town Hall, where flags will be presented and displayed.

“It’s great we are able to bring something new to the celebration this year,” said Chamber Executive Director Bob Reiling, referring to the opening ceremony.

“We hope individuals and families will come to the Green to see this special event and stay to enjoy all of the activities and explore downtown, including our businesses, before the fireworks,” he said.

The ceremony will include the presentation of each flag of the original 13 states, honoring each state in the order they ratified the Constitution of the United States. It will conclude with the ringing of church bells on the Green.

“We’re excited to be a part of the Fourth of July activities,” said Heidi Norcross, committee chair. “We are only two years away from our nation’s bicentennial and the New Milford Celebrates America 250 Committee is gearing up for it by offering special events like this now until 2026.

“Let Freedom Ring” stems from an idea born of two men from Litchfield County, Eric Sloane and Eric Hatch, both historians and artists, who recognized the significance of the ringing of the bell situated atop the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, to signal America’s independence.

A Congressional proclamation (77 Stat. 9441) was adopted June 26, 1963, to have bells rung in public buildings across America in commemoration of the country’s independence.

“This ceremony is a great way to honor all those brave American patriots who gave us this great nation,” said Michael Bird, a member of the New Milford Celebrates America 250 Committee and the vice president of the CT Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.

“It’s a visually impressive ceremony with the flags, followed by the ringing of all the bells,” he related. “Joining together with others in a group to experience this is really special.”

The public is invited to bring handbells to ring for the ceremony.

New this year be additional Fourth of July offerings presented by the town’s America 250 Committee, including greetings by a life-sized Roger Sherman, the only person to sign all four great state papers of the United States: the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution, and an 8-foot tall Declaration of Independence that residents can sign.

The Declaration will later be displayed in the community.

Representatives from the committee, along with its partners, the Roger Sherman Chapter, NSDAR, the CT Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and the Charles Merriman Chapter, Children of the American Revolution, will be on hand to meet the public.

The committee will again sponsor a summer scavenger hunt for youth. Information about it will be available at the committee’s booth during the festivities.

In addition to the ceremony and America 250 offerings, members of the Woman’s Club of Greater New Milford will create a large flag cake using cupcakes that will be served free to the public after 5 p.m.

Musical entertainment will round of the evening’s activities on the Green, with music by 

Dan Sawyer at the bandstand from 6:30 p.m. until the start of the fireworks at dusk, approximately at 9:30 p.m.

Key places to watch the fireworks from downtown include the south end of the Green, the bottom of Bank Street, Patriot’s Way, and Young’s Field Road.