Holiday revelers say there’s no other place they’d rather be to celebrate America’s 249th birthday than Boston, coming out early and often for Fourth of July festivities.

The celebration began bright and early on Friday, with hundreds of people decked out in the nation’s colors flocking to City Hall Plaza for the start of a parade that stretched to the Old State House for the reading of the Declaration of Independence.

Jackie Washburn spent the morning relaxing by the Charles River, arriving in the early morning to ensure she’d have as best seat as possible for the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular in the evening.

This is Washburn’s 19th Fourth of July at the Esplanade, which the New Bedford resident called an “exciting place to be” as she sees familiar faces year after year, while meeting new ones, all in unity.

“With the political climate, and the way it is, it is one day to put our differences aside,” Washburn told the Herald, “come together, and celebrate the freedoms that we do have and where we are aiming to go as a country.”

Bridgewater resident Meagan Rebelo, in a large group with Washburn, said she initially thought her friend was “crazy” for a few years until she came to Esplanade for the first time herself. She said she’s been “hooked ever since.”

“It’s just the energy, being in there – the whole experience is just so moving,” Rebelo said of celebrating with the Boston Pops. “I absolutely love it.”

Holding her months-old baby Mira, while giving a speech at City Hall Plaza in the morning, Mayor Michelle Wu reminded the crowd that Boston is the “city that started it all.” She highlighted how some 250th anniversary milestones have already been celebrated, with Paul Revere’s Ride and the Battle of Bunker Hill.

The mayor then reflected on how, at this time, 250 years ago, Bostonians didn’t know that the British would be forced out eight months later, before independence was declared on July 4, 1776.

“All that Bostonians knew at the time was what we continue to hold true today,” Wu said. “That there is a difference between right and wrong, that there is a difference between freedom and tyranny, and what we do in each moment matters because a better future for our families is always worth fighting for.”

Robert Santiago, the city’s commissioner of veterans services, shared the importance of the Pledge of Allegiance, 31 words that he said “affirm the values and freedom that the American flag represents” and renew promises to be one nation, to defend liberty, and to strive for justice.

“As we look ahead to the 250th anniversary of this great nation,” Santiago said, “the Pledge of Allegiance reminds us that our story is still being written.

“Today, let us recite the Pledge of Allegiance, not out of routine,” he added, “but with gratitude, reflection and with resolve. Let it remind us of the generations who’ve sacrificed for the freedoms that we all enjoy today.”

Hundreds of people from all generations flooded the streets behind the Frank Zarba Military Band and the Boston Fire Department. The parade stopped for a 21-musket salute and the playing of taps in front of the Granary Burying Ground, where wreaths were laid for some of the Founding Fathers.

Youngsters waved mini American flags while on their parents’ shoulders, with flags on street poles blowing in the wind. After the reading of the Declaration of Independence at the Old State House, red, white and blue confetti pieces shot into the sky, falling to the ground.

“Boston is one of my favorite places,” said Tyler Iriving, 23, who flew out from Boulder, Colo., to take in the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular.

The Middlesex County Volunteer Fife and Drum Corps perform during the annual Harborfest Fourth of July procession in downtown Boston, Friday. (Mark Stockwell/Boston Herald)
Boston Pops fans arrive early Friday to claim a spot on the Esplanade for the Fourth of July Boston Pops concert and fireworks show. (Mark Stockwell/Boston Herald)
A musket volley is fired during the annual Harborfest Fourth of July procession in downtown Boston, Friday. (Mark Stockwell/Boston Herald)
A musket volley is fired off in front of the Granary burial ground in a ceremony during the annual Harborfest Fourth of July procession in downtown Boston, Friday. (Mark Stockwell/Boston Herald)
The Pledge of Allegiance is recited before the annual Harborfest Fourth of July procession in downtown Boston, Friday. (Mark Stockwell/Boston Herald)