Where to Watch Fireworks in Essex County -- Starting Friday Night!

Head on over to Branch Brook Park tonight for a Fourth of July celebration, including a performance by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) followed by a dazzling fireworks display.

Beginning at 6 p.m. at the park's Great Lawn, near Heller Parkway, families can enjoy child-sized orchestral instruments to play, provided by Touch the Music, and student ensembles from the greater Newark area will perform.

At 7:30 p.m., NJSO will perform hits from the stage and the screen, like music from "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial," Richard Rodgers’ "Carousel Waltz," while Gilbert and Sullivan’s "H.M.S. Pinafore" will mix with patriotic favorites and a salute to the Armed Forces. The program also features Tchaikovsky’s Polonaise from "Eugene Onegin," Nicolai’s "Merry Wives of Windsor" overture, Strauss’ "Voices of Spring" and more.

Vocalists from Opera New Jersey soprano Channing Connell, mezzo soprano Melissa Kornacki and baritone Jeremy Moore will perform with the orchestra.

The fireworks display will follow the musical performance.

Can't make it for fireworks Friday? Visit Brookdale Park in Bloomfield Monday at 7:30 p.m. for a performance by the popular 1960s group Duprees and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Fireworks will follow the concert. Entrance to the park is at Watchung Avenue or Belleville Avenue in Bloomfield.

– Staff reports