Thousands gather as fireworks light up the sky behind the Gateway Arch on Friday in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.
St. Louis-area residents are celebrating the United States' 249th birthday — just a year shy of the country's sestercentennial soiree — with fanfare, fireworks and community gatherings.
Kate Mahoney, a 42-year-old longtime resident of the city’s Shaw neighborhood, said she especially appreciates the neighborhood’s annual kids’ bike parade, which drew more than 100 people this year.
"It's really just a chance to get together," she said. "A lot of people were wondering what to do for this Fourth of July, given the state of our country. I thought: 'Well, this is a community that I really love and support ... so it's good to get the chance to get together.'"
See photos of how Independence Day lit up the St. Louis region by St. Louis Public Radio’s Lylee Gibbs and Brian Munoz.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
Spectators watch and capture photos of the annual Fourth of July fireworks show at Gateway Arch National Park on Friday.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
Thousands of spectators watch the fireworks show at Gateway Arch National Park on Friday — steps away from the Mississippi River.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
Emma Vaughn, 23, and Jack Andrews, 21, celebrate their first anniversary watching the Fourth of July fireworks at Gateway Arch National Park — the same place where they had their first date — on Friday in downtown St. Louis.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Thousands watch as fireworks light up the sky behind the Gateway Arch on Friday in downtown St. Louis.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Thousands watch as fireworks light up the sky behind the Gateway Arch on Friday in downtown St. Louis.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Thousands watch as fireworks light up the sky behind the Gateway Arch on Friday in downtown St. Louis.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
Thousands of spectators sit under the Gateway Arch as they watch the fireworks show on Friday.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
Bri Brehm, right, of Minnesota, lights her sparkler using one held by Jennifer Brehm as they wait for the fireworks show at Gateway Arch National Park on Friday.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Fireworks explode over the Old Courthouse and Gateway Arch as seen from Kiener Plaza on Thursday in downtown St. Louis.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
An outline of Superman is formed by drones during a promotional light show for an upcoming Superman film, ahead of the fireworks display at Gateway Arch National Park on Friday.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
Drones form the Superman logo in the sky during a promotional light show for an upcoming Superman movie, ahead of the fireworks display at Gateway Arch National Park on Friday.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Drones form Superman's dog, Krypto, during a promotional light show for an upcoming Superman film, ahead of the fireworks display at Gateway Arch National Park on Friday in downtown St. Louis.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
A St. Louis police officer uses a flashlight to play with a stray street cat at Kiener Plaza before the fireworks show on Thursday in downtown St. Louis.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
Thousands of spectators fill the streets following the end of the Fourth of July fireworks show at the Gateway National Park on Friday.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
Spectators sprawl across the lawn as the sun dips behind the Gateway Arch, waiting for the evening’s fireworks display on Friday, at the Gateway Arch National Park in downtown St. Louis.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
Everlie Cole, 9, contemplates her next move in a game of checkers as her mother, Lacie Cole, 32, looks on before the fireworks show at the Gateway Arch National Park on Friday.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
Clifford Brooks, of St. Louis' Southampton neighborhood, writes a message on a whiteboard ahead of the fireworks show at Gateway Arch National Park on Friday.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
“Happy 4th of July” is written on a whiteboard ahead of the fireworks show at the Gateway Arch National Park on Friday.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
Ariela Chavez and her 2-year-old daughter, Athena, both of Ferguson, practice yoga poses while waiting for the fireworks show to begin at Gateway Arch National Park on Friday.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
Carter Washenfeldt, left, and Aiden Washenfeldt, right, of Mattoon, Illinois, blow bubbles while waiting for the fireworks show at Gateway Arch National Park on Friday.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
A couple walks through the grass as the sun sets behind the Old Courthouse ahead of the fireworks show at Gateway Arch National Park on Friday.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
Tiffany Mapp, of Northwoods, wears a red cowboy hat with silver stars during the annual Ferguson Fourth of July parade on Friday in Ferguson. She attended the parade with her husband, Jessie, not pictured, marking the third anniversary of when they met.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
Members of the Spirits of New Northside Drill Team sit on their phones as they wait for the start of the Ferguson Fourth of July parade on Friday.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
Reagan Wilbret, a 9-year-old member of Cub Scouts Pack 743, holds a giant American flag alongside fellow Boy and Cub Scouts at the start of the Ferguson Fourth of July parade on Friday along Florissant Road.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
Marlon Ewing, 6, of Ferguson, runs through a foam machine at the end of the Ferguson Fourth of July parade on Friday.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
Jax and Sydni, rottweilers, sit in the backseat of a truck before the Ferguson parade on Friday.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
Camden Scott, 3, of Ferguson, holds an American flag as he watches the Ferguson Fourth of July parade on Friday.
Lylee Gibbs
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St. Louis Public Radio
Members of Cub Scout Pack 743 and Boy Scout Troop 608 fold a giant American flag after walking in the annual Ferguson Fourth of July Parade on Friday in Ferguson.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
More than 100 residents gather for the annual Shaw Independence Day Kids' Bike Parade on Friday in St. Louis’ Shaw neighborhood.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Jayne Jackson, center, prepares to kick off the Shaw Independence Day Kids' Bike Parade on Friday in St. Louis’ Shaw neighborhood. The parade has been a community tradition for nearly a decade.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
James Odham, 4, smiles while wearing red, white and blue stars as more than 100 residents gather for the Shaw Independence Day Kids' Bike Parade on Friday.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Rosie Trost, 9, weaves her bike through a crowd as more than 100 residents gather for the annual Shaw Independence Day Kids' Bike Parade on Friday.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
More than 100 residents gather for the annual Shaw Independence Day Kids' Bike Parade on Friday in St. Louis’ Shaw neighborhood.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Virginia Salinas, 7, looks out of the window of her retrofitted wagon pulled by her father, not pictured, during the Shaw Independence Day Kids' Bike Parade on Friday.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
More than 100 residents gather for the annual Shaw Independence Day Kids' Bike Parade on Friday.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
A festivalgoer reaches for an Independence Day sticker as more than 100 residents gather for the annual Shaw Kids' Bike Parade on Friday.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Hilda, a 1-year-old German shorthaired pointer, licks her nose during the annual Shaw Independence Day Kids Bike Parade.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Audrey Rundblad, 6, blows bubbles before the start of the Shaw Independence Day Kids' Bike Parade on Friday in St. Louis’ Shaw neighborhood.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Violet, 1, waves an American flag while sitting with her mother, Jordan Shelton, after the annual Shaw Independence Day Kids' Bike Parade on Friday in St. Louis’ Shaw neighborhood.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
More than 100 residents gather for the annual Shaw Independence Day Kids' Bike Parade on Friday.