On July 1st I moved from Minneapolis to downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota. (The two locations are only about 12 miles away, and are known as the Twin Cities). When my fiancee, Jasmine, and I get married in early August, we’ll live there together.

Two days ago, on July 4th, I gathered with friends just two blocks away at the Wabasha Street bridge on Kellogg Boulevard to watch the fireworks being launched on the Mississippi River. This video captures approximately the last 12 minutes of the show, including the grand finale.

I was there with a group from International Village Church, and other invited friends. We were a gathering of Bhutanese and Karen (from Myanmar) refugees, Philippinos, and Americans. Aside from our gathering, it was nice to see a very diverse crowd around us.

We came together at about 6:30pm to eat picnic-style and hang out in the midst of the heat wave that has been affecting the Midwest. The humidity never did subside all that much, even as the fireworks finally began at 10:15pm, but it was a fun evening.

This video was taken from my smartphone, which doesn’t take the best footage in the world. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy it.