The Great American State Fair on the National Mall closed for hours on Friday as dangerous heat swept through Washington, then was set to reopen at 5 p.m. Freedom 250 said the pause was needed to protect guests, volunteers, performers, vendors and staff.
The closure landed on a day when the holiday crowd was already bracing for extreme heat. The D.C. fire department said it had treated people at the fair for heat-related illnesses, though a spokesperson said the department did not know how many had been treated. Temperatures were expected to climb above 100 degrees on Friday and Saturday, with extreme-heat advisories in place.
That same heat was changing how Washington marked the holiday. Capitol Police said the annual Capitol Fourth Concert would still go forward on Friday evening, with public gates opening at 7 p.m. and the show beginning at 8 p.m. Guests were told to bring plenty of water, and non-glass water bottles and coolers were allowed. The concert was set to feature Patti LaBelle, Alan Jackson, Chicago, Kool & the Gang, the National Symphony Orchestra, the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” the Choral Arts Society of Washington and the Joint Armed Forces Chorus.
The decision to keep the concert on the schedule underscored how uneven the holiday shutdown became. Capitol Police had already barred the public from Thursday-evening rehearsal because of the heat, while parade organizers in Leesburg, Virginia, Laurel, Maryland, and Takoma Park, Maryland, canceled Independence Day events after Tara Egan warned in a Thursday email that parading was particularly risky. She said it would not be safe or responsible to ask the community to march or gather in the heat.
The concert’s place on the calendar was no accident. It was moved to July 3 because Freedom 250 fireworks and programming were scheduled for the National Mall on Independence Day, and it is broadcast by PBS and carried by public television stations nationwide. By Friday afternoon, the holiday picture was clear: the fair had paused, parades had been scrapped, and the concert was still on, with officials trying to keep the celebrations alive without pretending the weather was harmless.
