NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Beaches, BBQ, and then, the big blast.
The 31st annual Macy's 4th of July Fireworks will light up the night sky over Manhattan to mark the day, 231 years ago, that America was born.
Robin Hall, executive producer of Macy's Fireworks, promises the show will again be the biggest in the nation, filled with "eye-popping color, intense sound and breathtaking new effects".
The pyrotechnics will be fired from eight barges in two locations, the East River and South Street Seaport, with over 1,300 shells launched per minute. More than 3 million people are expected to line both sides of the river, in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, to view the dazzling display.
Viewing Locations for July 4th Fireworks
If you plan to be part of the crowd, be sure to bring along your radio, and tune it to 1010WINS. We will be carrying the 
musical soundtrack, which is perfectly synchronized to the fireworks. For the first time, the score will be "trimulcast", which means it can be heard on 1010WINS Radio, 1010WINS.com, and on 1010WINS-HD (102.7 FM-HD2). Our continuous coverage begins at 8:57 p.m. The Fireworks Spectacular gets underway at approximately 9:20 p.m.
This year's theme, 'In Our Children's Eyes', uses patriotic tunes, American favorites, and original music to celebrate the patriots, pioneers, and superheroes that have shaped our nation. Tony Award-winner Anika Noni Rose performs the show's title song, composed by Macy's Creative Director William Schermerhorn and Broadway composer Stephen Flaherty. Fellow Tony winners John Lloyd Young and Lea Salonga also are featured, along with the New York Pops and the Colonial Williamsburg Fifes and Drums.
Macy's and the Sousa Fireworks team are sure to thrill young and old with new firework shells like the Jellyfish (that resemble the sea creatures), Electric Rice Krispies (snap, crackle and pop), Nautical Strobes and Mines (colored explosions that remain ignited for a brief time after landing on the water), and Parachute Shells (their lights seemingly hang in the sky before slowly descending). The show climaxes with the famed Golden Mile, which stretches across the skyline and fills it with an explosion of golden light from 1,200 feet in the air to the water's edge.
The Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular will be telecast on NBC. Natalie Morales and Tiki Barber co-host.
For more on the Macy's Fireworks, click here
For best places to view the fireworks, click here
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