Celebrate July 4 in D.C. with these parades, concerts and festivals

The National Mall and the surrounding museums and memorials are the traditional heart of D.C.’s Independence Day festivities. This year, though, there have been some big changes to accommodate celebrations of America’s 250th birthday. The Mall has been packed with temporary structures for the Great American State Fair (through July 10), limiting access to the turf. That means that on July Fourth, fireworks viewers will have to set up their picnics and blankets on the Washington Monument grounds, rather than the area between Smithsonian museums.