How are Americans celebrating the 4th of July this year?

Travel records are expected to be broken as Americans eagerly flock to airports and crowded highways to celebrate their nation’s birth with parades, picnics and spectacular fireworks displays.

Many people are choosing to prioritize leisure and adventure, refusing to let financial worries get in the way of their vacation plans.

according to Denver Gazettean estimated 16,000 professional fireworks displays have been held at backyard gatherings to celebrate the Fourth of July.

Fireworks use at U.S. holiday celebrations is expected to hit a record high this year, according to a consumer fireworks industry group.

“This is how we celebrate. Bombs explode in the air. Rockets glow red. This is how people show their pride and patriotism,” said Julie Heckman with the American Pyrotechnics Association.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration said daily passenger throughput hit a record high of nearly 3 million last week, a figure that is expected to be exceeded this week.

In addition, an estimated 60.6 million people will travel by car during the holiday season.

The increase in travel is partly due to easing inflation, even as Americans remain concerned about the economy.

There’s also plenty of barbecue, desserts, cold drinks and the Stars and Stripes to enjoy, but Americans are also celebrating in other ways that are unique to their communities.

Communities across the U.S. celebrate Independence Day

Off the rocky coast of Downeast, Maine, some people planned to participate in lobster boat races. Descendants of the signers of the Declaration of Independence rang the Liberty Bell 13 times in Philadelphia – each ring for the original colony.

The communities of Bolinas and Stinson Beach, just north of San Francisco, California, are holding an annual tug-of-war competition where the loser is thrown into a lagoon.

The annual hot dog eating contest in Coney Island, New York is also in full swing.

However, the annual fireworks display in the Northern California city of Oroville was canceled as an estimated 26,000 residents were displaced by the spread of the Thompson Fire while hundreds of firefighters toiled in sweltering heat to prevent the blaze from spreading to more homes.