Town of Bristol kicks off summer concert series ahead of July 4th festivities

BRISTOL, R.I. (WLNE) — The town of Bristol came together at Independence Park to kick off its summer concert series in preparation for its famous Fourth of July celebrations, an event that sparks patriotism into the town each year.

The town of Bristol is the home of America’s oldest, continuous Fourth of July celebration and Tuesday night, the town kicked off the summer concert series leading up to their big Fourth of July parade in just two weeks.

Eleni Gatos, a resident of Bristol and employee at Bristol House of Pizza said, “I feel like every town has their thing, but I feel like our thing is the Fourth of July so every single year people come together — soon we have the carnival and the parade.”

Hundreds of attendees set up chairs and blankets to celebrate their American pride while a live band played and food trucks lined up to keep everyone full during the concert.

For one non-resident, Sarah Brennan, she said she came back a second year in a row because she loved the festival so much.

“My husband, he came into town for work so we came to Bristol and we are staying here. This is the second year I have been here for this festival. We weren’t expecting it the first year and we made sure to come back this year,” said Brennan.

For Bristol residents, this holiday is about more than just the history.

Camille Teixeira, vice Chairman of the Bristol Fourth of July parade, said, “The patriotism that this town has — it is a big melting pot of different nationalities and it is very inclusive and we just celebrate the Independence Day parade — you can just feel the excitement and buzz in town.”

Bristol will host a concert each night leading up to the Fourth of July.