Fireworks light up the sky next to the Empire State Building in New York City on 4 July, 2023, as seen from Weehawken, New Jersey, as part of the Independence Day Celebrations. Photo: William Volcov / Brazil Photo Press via AFP
Americans in New Zealand are spending their fourth of July celebrating with the community, enjoying nostalgic foods, and reminiscing on the massive festivities for Independence Day back home.
On 4 July, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, which meant American colonies gained independence from British rule.
"It's a day for picnics, and going out to the park, and playing games, and having fireworks - fireworks were always a big highlight for me growing up - and then parades. The best part about 4th of July, for me, is the small town parades you see all over the United States," US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission David Gehrenbeck told Afternoons' Jesse Mulligan.
One of the oldest ongoing 4th July celebrations is where Gehrenbeck grew up in the small town of Bristol on Rhode Island.
"It started in 1785 and they have this parade they've been doing every year since then.
"But then this other town in Rhode Island, Glocester, also very small town, has what they call the Ancients and Horribles parade and that's for your sort of creative types to get out there and do their Dungeons and Dragons thing or whatever they want to do to celebrate independence in their own way. "
This year, he was celebrating the Kiwi and American way; by going on some treks around New Zealand as well as indulging in the dishes traditionally enjoyed on this day.
"We had a big celebration yesterday at work, at the embassy. We have today off. So yesterday, we had our community group event at the embassy, where we had some hamburgers and some apple pie and just enjoyed spending time together.
Costumed revelers march through the streets during the Fishtown Horribles Parade, ahead of Independence Day, in Gloucester, Massachusetts on 3 July, 2024. The parade is part of the city’s July 4th celebrations. Photo: AFP / Joseph Prezioso
Despite the tough political and economic environment in the US, it did not put a damper on the celebratory mood, he said.
"It's about celebrating the independence of our country, this year is 248 years and that's an important milestone, but it's also an opportunity just to spend time together and enjoy our community, which is why I love those parades because it brings those communities together."
Part of the joy was unexpectedly bumping into famous people, who were also enjoying festivities, he said.
"My parents are from Minnesota and we went to see one of these small parades in this town Marine on Saint Croix, and we're watching the parade and we look over and see this somewhat elderly gentleman also watching the parade.
"And it's Walter Mondale, who was our former vice president [under then president Jimmy Carter] ... I was in the foreign service, so we went and talked to him. He was very interested in my family's life in the foreign service. But he was just this member of the community, watching the parade."
Food, family, and politics: 'I love New Zealand but in my heart, America will always be home'
The fourth of July holiday is known for barbecues and picnics, he said. Some of the 'must have' items on a 4th July menu include hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream (because it's summer in the US), and a beer.
But there was still the gap of missing family.
"We were so happy to get the assignment, and then we arrived here last September, and we have loved every single day ever since.
"But it is a very long ways away from home, and so that is hard to be that far away. And we're actually going to go back soon to see my mother and to see my sisters and to see our daughter and our granddaughter. So we're very excited about that. But yeah, that's the toughest part."
Photo: JOSEPH PREZIOSO
American food importer Martha's Backyard Sandy Graham, who has spent the day handing out Tootsie Rolls to customers at her shop front and wishing them a happy fourth of July, was on the same page.
"Listening to David, I mean, he could have been talking about my hometown, which is Ithaca in New York. And I remember as a little girl, we would just hop in the car, and we'd go to the highest point and look at all the fireworks."
Some of her customers come into the store full just for the nostalgia - a feeling she can relate to.
"A very good friend of mine earlier said to me ... 'you are the most devout patriotic person' ...
"I love New Zealand but in my heart, America will always be home," Graham told Jesse Mulligan.
"Even as I've been here since, you know, let's say 2000, I've lost more and more family members and it's hard living in another country. It is. You build a family here, but then you have your family over there, and with politics often, you sit on different sides of the fence."
A group of Trump supporters is confronted by a Black Lives Matter protest group while they wait along the Allegheny River North Shore for a flotilla of boats taking part in a boat parade for the re-election of Donald Trump to pass by on 4 July, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Photo: Jeff Swensen / Getty Images / AFP
And the store wasn't untouched by US politics either. Apparently, Graham got hate mail after selling Trump memorabilia, which customers had asked for.
"I just grew a bit afraid of that. So I pulled all the items and stuck them way back in the kitchen and anyone who was serious about the Trump stuff ... the staff would go and get it.
"Then after a while, I just couldn't do that anymore. That was an interesting time. I've been through so many presidents and have seen more and more people come to New Zealand because of what goes on politically."
But some of the more popular items in the store include tortillas, cake mixes, snacks, and more recently Nerd Gummy Clusters (apparently because of some social media trend, she says). And then there's canned pumpkin.
"We do have pumpkin in New Zealand, but I can never cut a pumpkin I'm afraid of taking my finger off so canned pumpkin and you just open it up and there's so many uses, pumpkin soup, cheesecake, pumpkin pie.
"Believe it or not, a lot of people come in and buy the pumpkin for their dogs ... I suppose it's constipation, really. It's very big for dogs.
"We find out so many things from our customers that we don't even know."
Martha's Backyard, Mt Wellington, Auckland. Photo: Google Maps
