Members of the National Park Service drive by the National Archives during the National Independence Day Parade on Friday. (Pete Kiehart/For The Washington Post)
D.C.'s mayor paraded through Barracks Row in a Washington Commanders jersey. A couple smiled while wearing red, white and blue leis in the Palisades. Immigrants became citizens at George Washington's Mount Vernon estate.
Thousands of people gathered in and around America's capital city on its 249th birthday for bands, barbecues and Beyoncé -- lining up hours before showtime for Cowboy Carter merch. Sipping cold drinks and waving tiny American flags, they didn't let hot temperatures deter the Fourth of July celebrations.
The day stirred feelings of joy and hope for many Americans, even amid declining national pride, rising political violence and persistent fears over threats to democracy.
"In spite of all the flaws that I think America has, I still think it is a good place to live and I do support democracy and the freedoms that we have," said Ellen Maurer, 76, a retired teacher living in D.C. who came out for the city's Independence Day parade.
Outside the National Archives Museum, Maurer and hundreds of families lined Constitution Avenue. The low rumblings of Capitol Police officers on motorcycles signaled the festivities were ready to begin.
Blocks from the White House and National Mall, a marching band headed down Constitution Avenue while onlookers cheered. Street vendors, a Fourth of July parade mainstay, sold everything from ice cream to T-shirts.
"Roasted chicken sub with chips and bottled water for $10!" shouted a woman in a yellow romper, dragging a red wagon behind her with a cooler and young girl sitting on top.
Amid the crowd of red, white and blue, a few paradegoers stood out. They carried white signs with black ink, protesting President Donald Trump and his agenda -- a break from the largely jovial and celebratory mood.
Greg Horst, 38, had been walking the parade route since 8 a.m., carrying a sign that read "suffer no king" on the front and "forward not back" on the other side. A small Pride flag hung out of his backpack.
Horst said he wanted to protest after Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill -- which stands to disrupt health care coverage for millions of Americans -- passed through Congress Thursday. Horst is also worried about authoritarianism.
"I want people to see this, and I want them to think about what they're celebrating," said Horst.
The engineer, who lives in the D.C. area, said the responses to his demonstration have been mostly positive. But he's gotten some negative reactions too. Some people told him, "We're not suffering under a king." Others, he said, yelled insults. But he planned to keep protesting.
Later in the day, Matthew Woodson, 63, celebrated the president’s accomplishments. He stood on a small platform that had been covered with a purple tablecloth and an American flag as a speaker played a classical version of “America the Beautiful.”
“Crime is down. Inflation’s down,” Woodson said, wearing a custom-made reproduction of George Washington’s uniform from the Continental Army. The father and musician said that when he first came to Washington four years ago, he felt like he was “behind enemy lines.” He said he refrained from being as vocal about his conservative political views out of fear he would say “the wrong thing.”
Now, he said, things have changed: “We’re a free people now.”
Meanwhile, at Mount Vernon, the former home of George Washington, thousands of spectators gathered to watch more than 100 immigrants take an oath of allegiance to the United States. The citizen candidates represented 95 countries, from Costa Rica to Canada to Cameroon.
The historical estate had a full agenda of activities planned: military drills, a National Concert Band performance, and an 18th-century baking demonstration and fireworks. Susan Edwards-Aagaard has attended for the last seven years with her husband and children.
Edwards-Aagaard, an active duty Air Force member raised in Saudi Arabia, said she was most looking forward to reciting the Pledge of Allegiance with her kids. She also wanted them to feel grateful.
"I wanted my kids to see what a big deal it is to be confirmed as an American citizen and how blessed they are to have been born here," she said.
On the National Mall, Emma Moulton, 22, squinted as she posed for a photo with a group of friends in front of the Capitol. The young women, draped in patriotic colors in various styles, are all in D.C. for the summer as interns and didn't want to pass up a chance to be at the center of the festivities.
"Why would we not go to the National Mall on the Fourth of July?" Maggie Macfarlane, 23, said. "I feel like we all just assumed we'd come here. Like, I came to D.C., I'm gonna go to the National Mall."
When it comes to politics, the friends said they don't always agree. Moulton said they like to talk about those differences and they "respect each other's opinions."
"We all agree that America has a lot of problems," Moulton said,"but we also are big fans of what America can be and what America stands for."So I think it's fun to be in the center of all of it."