My favorite July 4th was in 2000. What was yours?
A stroke of fortune, as it were.
Mine was on the South Lawn of the White House, where the Clinton administration staff and their families were invited to an ice cream social and fireworks. A friend worked on the staff. There were thousands of people on the lawn, and Bill and Hillary came out and shook hands. I recall we were served Dove bars.
It was very warm, but beautiful, as the sun set over the White House. Music from the other end of the mall was pumped in on big speakers, and Ray Charles was performing.
The South Lawn faces the Washington Monument, around which the fireworks are set off. The lawn is really a ringside seat, and the fireworks were close.
I am someone who is not moved much by patriotic symbolism but it was pretty overwhelming and moving to experience this. Something about being at the White House and celebrating the nation's birthday right there with the President made it a peak experience.
= new reply since forum marked as read
I think we posted simultaneously and are also showing our ages
I was 11...
best age to see the best fireworks show one has ever witnessed.
oh, and....it is not the years...its the "mileage" that counts
I participated in a World War II re-enactment presented by The Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor at Fort Knox. It was a lot of fun. I was looking forward to getting out of the Army just a few weeks later. Here I am after the battle re-enactment, when the spectators were allowed to climb all over the vehicles, and ask questions of the re-enactors. A friend asked me to pose for a pic with her daughter.
A terrific day. Very hot and humid (Kentucky in summertime), but a terrific day.
I'm the guy dressed like a WWII re-enactor and looking at the camera...
in a State Park near where I live. The fire tower is one of the highest points around for close to a radius of 70 miles or so. We had an incredible 360 degree view of firework shows from dozens and dozens of locations - way too many to count. It was literally dizzying, spinning ourselves around to look out the windows as the colorful explosions went off in all directions - some near, some far.
It was also somewhat eery, since we were too far away to hear any of the whistles and booms that accompany fireworks when viewed from close proximity. The only sounds we could hear were the leaves of the trees below rustling in the wind, and the occasional sound of a night bird calling. Still, it was definitely a far out experience - both figuratively and literally. 
The one downside came when the show was over and I realized that I stupidly hadn't thought to bring a flashlight along. It had still been light out when we first set out to climb up the tower. Now it was pitch dark and the sky was moonless and overcast. It was a challenging task to climb back down all those stairs, but doable, since we could work our way down carefully by touch - the framework of the tower was covered with metal hurricane fencing. The really hard part was trying to find the path from the fire tower back to the parking lot.
However, we (obviously) survived our little 4th of July adventure, and it's a memory my son and I will always share and treasure.
It was probably in 1982. My town was holding a fireworks display in a local park, which was located in a very narrow valley hemmed in by hills and a lake. The fireworks were being lit on a tiny promontory on the lake, and most of us were watching from a vantage point of maybe 50-75 yards away. The show had barely gotten started when someone lit an aerial firework that apparently had a short fuse. In his haste to get away, the lighter tripped over the firework, and it ended up pointed at where the unlit fireworks were being kept. You can probably imagine what happened after that-- fireworks going off in all directions. Total chaos. What a night to remember 
