People gathered to celebrate the Independence Day across Baltimore, with great food, fun performances and of course, fireworks.

Photojournalists Dylan Thiessen and Ulysses Muñoz visited multiple locations and events throughout the city to document the celebrations.

Thiessen started his day with the dogs at the American Visionary Art Museum’s annual Fourth of July Pet Parade and Talent Show in Fed Hill.

Bella the pug relaxes in her float at the AVAM July 4th Pet Parade and Talent Show on July 4, 2023. (Dylan Thiessen/The Baltimore Banner)
Danielle Dupuis holds Snoopy at the AVAM July 4th Pet Parade and Talent Show on July 4, 2023. (Dylan Thiessen/The Baltimore Banner)

They were adorable, sweet, perfectly costumed angels.

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From there, Thiessen headed to the Cherry Hill Arts & Music Festival in ... Cherry Hill. Obviously.

In addition to finding a bunch of folks relaxing and trying to keep cool, he photographed Gov. Wes Moore’s brief speech to the crowd.

While on-stage, Moore reiterated his support for the community after the tragic mass shooting that occurred in Brooklyn last weekend.

Josiah, 6, squirts a water bottle at Roysheonna, 8, outside of a Brooklyn community center on July 4, 2023.

After addressing the festival in Cherry Hill, Gov. Moore visited a community center in the Brooklyn Homes, near the scene of the attack.

He was joined by Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, Comptroller Brooke Lierman, as well as a number of other state and local officials.

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As officials arrived, children were running around and launching water fights with plastic water bottles.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, center, speaks with reporters outside a community center in Brooklyn on July 4, 2023, to discuss the mass shooting that took place nearby a few days earlier, standing alongside Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and other elected Maryland and local government officials. (Ulysses Muñoz / The Baltimore Banner)

As the sun set, people around the state prepared themselves (and their pets) for the incoming fireworks, I set up shop outside The Banner’s newsroom in the Inner Harbor.

I captured scenes of spectators enjoying the fireworks and hustled back to my computer to build this gallery.

Griselda Urbina watches as fireworks go off in the Inner Harbor as Baltimore City celebrates Independence Day on July 4, 2023. (Ulysses Muñoz/The Baltimore Banner)
Fireworks over the Inner Harbor on July 4, 2023.
People on Pier 4 watch as fireworks go off in the Inner Harbor as Baltimore City celebrates Independence Day on July 4, 2023. (Ulysses Muñoz/The Baltimore Banner)
People on Pier 4 watch as fireworks go off in the Inner Harbor as Baltimore City celebrates Independence Day on July 4, 2023. (Ulysses Muñoz/The Baltimore Banner)
Fireworks go off in the Inner Harbor above the Domino Sugars sign as Baltimore City celebrates Independence Day on July 4, 2023. (Ulysses Muñoz/The Baltimore Banner)
Fireworks over the Inner Harbor on July 4, 2023.
Fireworks over the Inner Harbor on July 4, 2023.