The Waterbury Symphony Orchestra will give a free outdoor concert July 3 beginning at 8 p.m. at Hamilton Park that will precede the fireworks to be shot from Holy Land. The concert, will be held near the Seven Angels Theater and is being sponsored by our good friends from MacDermid Performance Solutions. Grab your lawn chairs, blankets and coolers and plan to arrive early at Hamilton Park for a good spot that will let you enjoy both the music and the fireworks, which are set to start around 9:15 p.m.

Also, the Brass Mill Center Shopping Mall on Union Street is joining the July 3 celebration beginning at 2 p.m. when they invite at least 20 food trucks serving a variety of different types of food to the mall parking lot. The food trucks will be there until 10 p.m. If you’re planning on viewing the fireworks from the Mall parking lot, you should consider getting there long before the scheduled 9:15 p.m. launch. That’s because with the food trucks, the lot will fill early.

 Also, don’t forget that Mayor O’Leary is encouraging residents to get together and hold block parties. If you are planning a Block Party on July 3, please notify Mayoral Assistant Terry Corcoran at tcorcoran@waterburyct.org or 203-574-6712.

Once again, Mayor O’Leary will be sending a team of judges to the parties to determine the winners in four categories: Most Patriotic Party, Largest Party, Best Entertainment and Best And/Or Most Unique Food. The winners will get a $250 prize!

The rain date for all this is July 10.