Pictures of the Red, White, & Blue To-Do parade
The Philadelphia Historic District 250th Committee presented the second annual Red, White, & Blue To-Do celebration on Wednesday, July 2, 2025.

Whimsical red wagon floats, marching bands, John Adams and Ben Franklin reenactors, and representatives from over 20 groups marched to commemorate a day of “pomp and parade,” as declared by John Adams in 1776. He believed that Independence Day would be celebrated on July 2 — when the Continental Congress officially voted for independence — not two days later, when he, John Hancock, and 54 others signed the Declaration of Independence.