Make Chicago suburbs your Fourth of July destination

Chicago is hosting its fireworks on Wednesday, July 3, rather than on the Fourth, but if you can't make it to the city here are a few suburban spots that boast pretty impressive shows.

1. Village of Itasca July 4th Fireworks Display

The northwest suburb west of O'Hare claims to have Illinois' largest fireworks show at Hamilton Lakes, all synchronized to music.

• The event runs 4:30-10:30pm, with fireworks scheduled to start at 9:45pm. There's an activity area with face painting and jugglers for kids.
• Be advised: $25 to park

2. City of Aurora Independence Day Fireworks

The state's second-largest city (sorry, Naperville) hosts a pretty impressive display on July 3 .

• The city says the best places to watch are RiverEdge Park and McCullough Park. There will also be food trucks.

3. Bridgeview 2024 Independence Day Fireworks

The south suburb is following Chicago's lead and doing fireworks on July 3 .

• The event at Commissioners Park has a live DJ, and the fireworks show is scheduled for 9:15pm.

4. Tinley Park Rib Fest

Make it a double party in Tinley Park with Ribfest at the 80th Avenue train station from July 4-7 with fireworks at Freedom Park on July 4.

5. Palatine Jaycees Hometown Fest

If you really need to stretch out your patriotic celebration another day, the northwest suburb does its fireworks on July 5 during Hometown Fest .

• The display will be at Community Park at dusk.

6. The Chicago Dogs July 4th Weekend

A night watching the Chicago Dogs play baseball in Rosemont is always family fun. They will be kicking off their largest fireworks show of the season on July 4th at 9:30pm. Get there early to watch the Dogs take on the Sioux Falls Canaries.

• Also, it's "Thirsty Thursday" at the ballpark which gets you $2 beers.