On July 4, Americans celebrate their union, rue divisions

NEW YORK -- With backyard barbecues and fireworks, Americans celebrated Independence Day by participating in time-honored traditions expressing pride in their country's 242nd birthday.

But this quintessential American holiday also was marked with a sense of a United States divided for some -- evidenced by competing televised events in the nation's capital.

From New York to California, July Fourth festivities were at times lively and lighthearted, with Macy's July Fourth fireworks and Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest.

The day's events also were stately and traditional, with parades lining streets across the country and the world's oldest commissioned warship firing a 21-gun salute to mark the 242 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

For some Western states, however, the holiday was a bit more muted as high wildfire danger forced communities to cancel fireworks displays.

Members of the Palo Verde High School track team march Wednesday with a giant American flag during the Summerlin Council Patriotic Parade in Las Vegas.Richard Brian ~ Associated Press

Here are some highlights of Wednesday's festivities:

Oldest warship

The USS Constitution sailed in Boston Harbor and fired its guns again to mark Independence Day.

The world's oldest commissioned warship still afloat left its berth at the Charlestown Navy Yard on Wednesday morning. It glided through the harbor to mark 242 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The ship, nicknamed Old Ironsides, traveled to Fort Independence on Castle Island to fire a 21-gun salute. The ship's commander saluted the crowds gathered there.

Maddie Scaletta, center, waits with friends for the start of rehearsals for the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular in Boston.Michael Dwyer ~ Associated Press

A Navy sailor on board recited the Declaration of Independence during the cruise.

Historic parade

Crowds lined the streets in a Rhode Island town to see what's billed as the nation's oldest continuous Fourth of July celebration. Begun in 1785, the Bristol parade typically attracts about 100,000 people to the seaside town.

This year's was a scorcher: Temperatures hovered near 90 degrees when the parade began late Wednesday morning, and some marchers were treated for heat exhaustion and taken off the route.

Dueling celebrations

The country's longest-running live national July Fourth television tradition is PBS' broadcast of music and fireworks from the U.S. Capitol's West Lawn. But it faced new counterprogramming this year from the White House, which is hosting its own concert and view of the National Park Service's fireworks show.

PBS' "A Capitol Fourth" has the bigger stars, including The Beach Boys, Jimmy Buffett, Pentatonix, Chita Rivera, Luke Combs and The Temptations. It was hosted by John Stamos.

The entertainers on the 90-minute White House event airing on the Hallmark Channel included singer-songwriter Sara Evans, pianist Lola Astanova and two former "American Idol" finalists. Both shows included the fireworks display from the National Park Service.

First lady Melania Trump said the White House show would allow Americans to "tune in from their homes and be part of the festivities." PBS declined to comment.

Lighting up the skies

In New York, the Macy's fireworks show over the East River promised 25 minutes of sparkle and ahhhh plus the West Point Band and entertainers including Kelly Clarkson, Ricky Martin and Keith Urban on NBC's broadcast.

But some places in the American West canceled their planned July Fourth fireworks because of high wildfire danger, and others are doing drone light displays instead of pyrotechnics.

In Colorado, the wildfire danger forced some communities to cancel their fireworks. However, other shows went as planned in Denver, Colorado Springs and Fort Collins.

The small mountain town of Silverton, in southwestern Colorado, called off the fireworks part of its annual Independence Day party, but the rest of Wednesday's celebration were held, including live music and a water fight with firefighters. Aspen had a fire-proof drone light display above town.

Divided nation

This was the first Fourth of July many people were able to call themselves U.S. citizens after participating in naturalization ceremonies across the country.

In New Hampshire, more than 100 people from 48 countries became U.S. citizens during a ceremony at the Strawbery Banke museum in Portsmouth as part of the museum's annual American Celebration. A ceremony also was held aboard the USS New Jersey, where dozens of people from countries were sworn in.

The new citizens pledged allegiance to a country where some people lament the ability to debate respectfully the toughest issues of the day seems hopelessly lost. Several people were arrested Wednesday after hanging a banner from the Statue of Liberty's pedestal calling for abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Utah LGBTQ groups marched for the first time in a prominent July Fourth festival in the conservative city of Provo after years of organizers blocking them from participating.

The groups were met by cheers and rainbow flags as they marched Wednesday morning in the America's Freedom Festival parade.

Participants included a center for LGBTQ youth and an organization working to bridge divides between the LGBTQ community and the Mormon church.

The groups' parade application was initially denied this year by festival organizers who said participants could not focus on political or social issues but should instead focus on patriotism.

County officials threatened to pull $100,000 in taxpayer money from the privately organized event until festival organizers struck a deal allowing the groups to participate.