When Tom Jefferson and Ben Franklin and the boys were tromping around Old City, shouting and writing about liberty and all that, 231 years ago this week, they might well have been thinking about how to celebrate it.

Tom and Ben were big on celebrations, so they surely ruminated on parades and speeches and music and fireworks. Had they only known about Chaka Khan and Hall and Oates, Tom and Ben would have certainly invited them, just as Sonoco has for the 2007 Welcome America! Festival.

For the next week, Philadelphia will be awash in events, both sedate and explosive, to celebrate the work that Tom and Ben and their fellow Declaration signers wrought. Here are some daily highlights:

FRIDAY, June 29

The big event is the Friday Night Gospel Celebration from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the Great Plaza on Penn's Landing, headlined by contemporary Christian tenor J Moss. There is a local gospel showcase planned from 6 to 10 p.m. at the New Covenant Church Campus, 7500 Germantown Ave.

Friday (6/29), Monday (7/2) and Tuesday (7/2) Go 4th and Learn will set up shop at places around the city, so that kids from all over can get a little bit of fun with their history education. Friday's session is from 10 a.m. to noon at Bartram Village; Monday will be at the same time at the Atwater Kent Museum, the museum of Philadelphia History, at Sixth and Market Streets; and Tuesday's session will be 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Streets.

SATURDAY, June 30

The question is: Which will provide the greater sparks over the Delaware River waterfront, Chaka Khan or the fireworks after her concert? The "I'm Every Woman" soul diva will perform starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Great Plaza on Penn's Landing. Appearing with her are R & B singers Kenny Lattimore and Chante Moore. Fireworks will follow at about 9:30 p.m.

A little more low-key will be the all-day Dreamland Carnival with Victoria Circus from noon to 11 p.m. at Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park. There will be the usual carny games, jugglers, clowns, and action rides; but the show also will feature a 70-foot Ferris wheel, high-wire acts and, from noon to 5 p.m., the International Federation of Strength Athletes strongman competition. Watch them ripple.

SUNDAY, July 1

Welcome America! will concentrate on Center City on Sunday. The Founding Fathers certainly chowed down on Sundays, and Taste of Philadelphia, on Independence Mall, will celebrate that. Restaurants and vendors from around the city will sell their specialties to historic-area visitors. Part of the purpose is to get those visitors into Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the National Constitution Center and all the other historic venues, showing off the city's past, while celebrating its gustatory present.

At the other end of Center City, Rittenhouse Square will hold Fair on the Square, celebrating the city's arts scene, from 3-8 p.m. At night, Philadelphia @ the Movies, which will have flicks at other venues around the city during the week, will show the 1940 Katherine Hepburn classic The Philadelphia Story on a big screen at 9 p.m. at the Square.

MONDAY, July 2

It's the day to show off Philadelphia's artistic influence with Arts on the Avenue along South Broad Street from 5 to 10 p.m. Branford Marsalis will be the jazz headliner at the Kimmel Center, but sounds of all styles, from jazz to classical, will flow from stages along the street. Performers will stroll the avenue and Latin dancers will be giving free salsa lessons.

For those who want to celebrate, but in a completely different kind of venue, Philly @ the Movies is going creative, with a showing of Apollo 13 at 9 p.m. at Northeast Philadelphia Airport.

TUESDAY, July 3

The big event of the day is the Fiesta Goya, 2 to 8:30 p.m. at 20th and the Ben Franklin Parkway. It's salsa of all sorts, with Latin food vendors, lots of marimbas and ole-ing all around Logan Circle. The musical headliners will be the Tito Puente Orchestra, Latin Grammy nominee Michael Stuart, and salsa master Adalberto Santiago. There will be free salsa lessons and an effort to break the Guinness World Record for largest salsa dance.

WEDNESDAY, July 4

Every year, there is a solemn little ceremony - lower-key than the rest of Welcome America! - at Independence Hall on July 4 at 10 a.m. There is a parade of all the state flags, along with readings from patriotic documents. It is a time for historical reflection in the place where independence really began .

Then it's time to get back to celebration, with an afternoon food festival from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m., followed by a parade down the Ben Franklin Parkway from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Following that is the week's cap-off concert, by Philly boys Daryl Hall and John Oates on the steps of the Art Museum. You CAN go for that, and then the fireworks right after sunset.