July 4 is full of music, food, fireworks and fun

Get ready for parties and pyrotechnics this weekend in honor of our nation's birthday. You might want to fire up the backyard barbecue or head to a community or city-sponsored celebration full of music, games and fireworks. Here's a list of some of the outdoor parties popping up in Hampton Roads. All numbers are 757 area code unless otherwise noted.

Read our guide on the best places to watch the fireworks.

Norfolk

Norfolk Tides baseball post-game fireworks, Tides vs. Charlotte Knights. Game time: 7:15 tonight and Saturday at Harbor Park, 150 Park Ave., Norfolk. 622-2222.

Fourth of July Great American Picnic & Fireworks, music (Fleet Jazz Ensemble at 6 p.m. and Fleet Forces Wind Ensemble at 8 p.m.), fireworks (9:30 p.m.), games, food and more. 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday at Town Point Park, Waterside Drive, Norfolk. 441-2345. www.festevents.org. Read more.

The Shore Thing Concert and Independence Day Celebration, music (The Janitors at 6 p.m.), fireworks (9:30 p.m.) and more. 6 to 10 p.m. Sunday at Ocean View Beach Park, 111 W. Ocean View Ave., Norfolk. 441-2345. www.festevents.org.

Chesapeake

Under the Stars Concert and Fireworks, music by the U.S. Fleet Forces Band and fireworks finale. 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Chesapeake City Park, 900 Greenbrier Pkwy., Chesapeake. 382-6411. Read more.

Fourth of July Celebration, parade, music, food, children's activities and more. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Lakeside Park, 1441 Bainbridge Blvd., Chesapeake. Music by F.A.B. 382-6411. Read more.

Virginia Beach

July Fourth Celebration, with music by Blackbird Pond and Fleet Forces rock band Four Star Edition, children's activities, festival foods, fireworks (9:30 p.m.) and more. 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday at Mount Trashmore Park, 310 Edwin Drive, Virginia Beach. 385-2990. Read more.

Stars & Stripes Explosion, music and more Sunday at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Music: 4IIC (8 and 9:45 p.m. 17th Street stage), Sol Libre (2:30 p.m. 24th Street stage), Symphonicity with the Virginia Beach Chorale and the Doorway Singers (8 p.m. 20th Street) and Bruce in the U.S.A. (8 and 9:30 p.m. 31st Street). Fireworks launched from a barge off 20th Street at 9:30 p.m. 491-7866. www.beachstreetusa.com. Read more.

Independence Day 5K Run/Walk, Mile Run, 5K Pump 'N Run and Tot Trot, 7:30 a.m. Sunday at Mount Trashmore Family YMCA, 4441 South Blvd., Virginia Beach. 456-9622. Read more.

Portsmouth

Cradock's Patriotic Salute & Children's Bike Parade, children's bike parade at 5 p.m. Sunday at Afton Parkway and George Washington Highway in Historic Cradock, Portsmouth. Followed by a flag ceremony, music and more at the gazebo in Afton Square. 515-3739.

Suffolk

July Fourth Celebration, opening ceremonies at 11 a.m. Sunday, bicycle and float parade at 11:30 a.m., rides and games from noon to 3 p.m., raft race at 3 p.m., music (The Last Exit and Nate Sparks) from 6:30 p.m. and fireworks at 9 p.m. Ebenezer United Methodist Church, 1589 Steeple Drive, Suffolk. 238-2359. Read more.

Peninsula

Liberty Celebration, tactical drills, military exercises, interpretive programs and the viewing of a rare broadside printing of America's Declaration of Independence. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Yorktown Victory Center, Water Street and Colonial Parkway, Yorktown. (888) 593-5682. www.historyisfun.org.

Salute to the Union, featuring a 50-gun salute at 11:55 a.m. Sunday at Continental Park, Fort Monroe. 788-3151.

Fourth of July Laser Displays, in Abbitt Planetarium. 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. Sunday at Virginia Living Museum, 524 J. Clyde Morris Blvd., Newport News. 595-1900. Read more.

Patriotic pyrotechnics, 9:30 tonight through Sunday at Busch Gardens, 1 Busch Gardens Blvd., Williamsburg. (800) 343-7946.

Yorktown Fourth of July Celebration, music (The Fifes and Drums of York Town, Voices of the Yorktown Chorale and The U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Band), children's activities, fireworks (9:15 p.m.) and more. 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday in Historic Yorktown. 890-3500. www.yorkcounty.gov/fourth. Read more.

Fourth of July Stars in the Sky, music by Jimmy Jones Band, food, children's activities and fireworks (9:30 p.m.). 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday at Victory Landing Park, 23rd Street at the James River, Newport News. 926-1400. Read more.

Fourth at the Fort, music, children's activities, food and more from 5 to 11 p.m. Sunday at Walker Airfield, Fort Monroe. Music by Jimmy Wayne and Emily West. Fireworks at 9:30 p.m. 788-3151. Read more.

Independence Day, "A Salute to the States" Sunday featuring the Williamsburg Militia and Colonial Williamsburg's Fifes and Drums with musket and cannon salutes (10 a.m.), Reading of the Declaration of Independence (12:30 p.m.), fireworks (9:15 p.m.) and more. (800) HISTORY. www.history.org. Read more.

Western Tidewater

Fourth of July Town Picnic, music, food, children's activities, fireworks (9:30 p.m.) and more from 6 to 10 p.m. Sunday at Robinson Park, Duke Street, Windsor. 242-4288.