Across America, Celebrating Independence - Youth Journalism International

Fireworks for the Fourth of July over typical New England homes in Rhode Island. (Charles Perosino/YJI)

People gathered to watch the fireworks display at Lake Ozark, Missouri, on July 4.The lights glowing in the background are all boats gathering around to watch the fireworks shoot off at The Lodge of the Four Seasons hotel. Bouncy houses and bands were part of the celebration at the small festival, where a lot of Midwesterners come for vacation over the summer. (Sydney Hallett/YJI)

It’s important to get away quickly when setting off fireworks at home for the Fourth of July. While this is from Duluth, Minnesota, private displays take place across the country for Independence Day. (Allison Hall/YJI)

A private fireworks display in a residential neighborhood in Bristol, Connecticut, on July 4. (Alan Burkholder/YJI)

Fireworks at Lake Ozark, Missouri, on the Fourth of July. (Sydney Hallett/YJI)

Fourth of July fireworks light up the ski chairlift at Smuggler’s Notch in Jeffersonville, Vermont. (Olivia Kalsner Kershen/YJI)

Garrett Fox, a server at Waffle House in Hendersonville, Tennessee, worked a Fourth of July shift at the popular Southern chain. Founded by two military veterans in 1955, the company – operating with the slogan “America’s place to work and eat,” – now has restaurants all over the country. (O.D. Wright/YJI)

A private fireworks display in a residential neighborhood in Bristol, Connecticut, on July 4. (Alan Burkholder/YJI)

Fireworks for the Fourth of July in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Fourth of July fireworks in Norwood, New Jersey. (Hannah Amaral/YJI)

Iowa sisters Callie and Miriam Ochs, a sophomore and senior at George Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, have fun with sparklers on the Fourth of July. (Isabel Hogg/YJI)