Maine has its lobster races. California's Catalina Island has its golf cart races. And Arizona has the firing of the anvil, a literal blast of a celebration.
From sea to shining sea, Americans have developed enduring traditions that go far beyond fireworks to mark July Fourth.
In the eastern Arizona town of Taylor, the anvil firing is nearing its 75th year. No one is really sure when it started. Nor why it kicks off at 4 a.m. Nor whether the 50-instrument musical accompaniment is technically a band or an orchestra.
What the good folk of Taylor do know is that the anvil shoots up to 10 feet in the air when fired, making a great "boom" to kick off a marathon day of celebrations that don't end until 10 p.m.
"It’s a loud boom, you can hear it a couple miles away," said Bob Cole, president of the Taylor/Shumway Heritage Foundation, which oversees five museums in Taylor. "But if you’re up close, it’s a kaboom, a lovely boom.”
Taylor will fire up this tradition on July 6, following the protocol of staging the event on the Saturday closest to July 4.
Taylor's anvil firing honors Founding Fathers' 'courage and persistence'
Two anvils with historic backstories are stacked up at the local ballfield, sandwiching a metal pipe holding gunpowder. Someone lights the powder with a 10-foot-long pole tipped with flaming newspaper. Then everyone stands back.
“If you’re close enough, you can feel the shock wave of the anvil," said Joel John, who was tapped last year for the lighting duties. "I could feel little bits of something hit me.”
John, a former state lawmaker from Buckeye, has been a regular at the anvil proceedings ever since his first year of marriage. His wife, a Taylor native, insisted he attend. He hasn't missed since — in part because his wife Shauna plays the saxophone with the Jennings Family Band.
The band accompanies the anvil as it's paraded around town on a truck and fired off at designated stops. Band members follow on three flat-bed trailers, and the Jennings drum provides a steady bass beat for the marches they perform.
The Jennings connection dates back to Elnora Jennings, one of the town's earliest settlers. Not all band members hail from the Jennings line. But the drum has true Jennings lineage, said Cole. It was brought to town by Cyrus Jennings in the late 19th century.
“The drum and the anvil go together," said Cole. "The anvil is really great, but who’s going to get up at 4 a.m. year after year to hear an anvil?”
The same thing stands for the drum. But put them together, Cole said, and you have a bounty of booms.
There have been repercussions from the annual event: it has spread to nearby Heber, Arizona, according to the local chamber of commerce.
This year, Cole was itching for an interactive anvil display for the museum. Although one of the anvils used for the July 4 celebration is housed at the museum, it's just not "touchy-feely", he said.
So he fashioned two anvils out of foam, connected them with a foam pipe, and created a lever that would pop a balloon when tapped.
“You get a little boom," Cole said. "It’s just fun.”
The bigger booms, however, are more than just fun, Cole said. The annual firing of the anvil honors the early days of the town, which was founded in 1878.
“It helps us remember and commemorate the courage and persistence of our Founding Fathers in forming a community where we could live," he said.
Where else to find July 4th fun
There are other fun Arizona July Fourth festivities, such as the Bisbee Coaster Race.
The Arizona Office of Tourism has a list of other activities here.
Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads as well as on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @maryjpitzl.
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