The best place to watch Fourth of July fireworks? The comfort of you own home, of course! PBS offers a front-row seat to one of the most spectacular pyrotechnic displays in the country when it airs A Capital Fourth (Saturday, 8/7c, PBS), an Independence Day celebration with oohs and aahs galore. Plus, something for music fans young and old(er) with performances by Barry Manilow, Natasha Bedingfield, Aretha Franklin, the cast of Jersey Boys and the Muppets from Sesame Street. Here, fairy-in-training Abby Cadabby previews the patriotic bash and shares her thoughts on the holiday.

What do you like most about the Fourth of July?
It’s amazing, because all different cultures come together and celebrate the United States with fireworks, so I think that’s super-special. My fairy godmommy was telling me about it and I’m pretty excited, especially that our little Sesame Street community gets to be there.

The Muppets are performing some of their greatest hits, along with a few holiday favorites.
Yeah, Oscar is normally grouchy about the whole thing, but since he gets to sing about how much he loves trash. He’s pretty cool. [Laughs]

And you sing “Somebody Come and Play”!
I like that song! Zoë and Rosita taught it to me and we sing it when we’re doing chalk art—it’s really neat. When people hear it, they really do come and play.

What songs do you like best for the holiday?
Yankee Doodle came to town riding on a pony stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni. I think that’s hilarious! I’d like to see that happen—I’d like to see his hat turn into a big wad of noodles. [Laughs]

How do you feel about fireworks? Some kids are scared of them.
No way—I love them! Plus, you get to say “ooh” and “aah.” I know that they will be red, white and blue—the colors of the flag—but I hope there will be other colors, too, celebrating the rainbow and such.

Do you get to wear something special for the show?
I don’t know! I was hoping to. I’m thinking of putting some different color ribbons in my hair. I’m not too sure yet. I think we might get to have flags. I’ll have to talk to the costume person. [Laughs]

And it’s going to be a massive crowd—any butterflies about that?
I can’t believe how many people are going to be there. I can’t even believe how they are going to squeeze in! We’ve never had that many people on Sesame Street. The most people we ever had were when Slimy was in a racing event and we had like 30 people. If they all come and play, that that stage is going to get really crowded. [Laughs]

Another big milestone this year is Sesame Street turning 40!
I love birthdays—I hope there’s cake! We haven’t had a party yet. I think everybody is planning on something special, but we don’t know—it might be a surprise.

What's your favorite part of living on Sesame Street?
Oh, gosh, that’s hard—there are so many favorite parts. I am super-grateful, because I fit in there, even though I’m completely different. There are monsters and people and now fairies and we’re just all good at being a big family. It’s not like a normal street—once you get to know someone, you become part of their world and they care about you so much. I think my favorite part about Sesame Street is that everyone wants to help you be a better you. Does that make sense?

It does, and it ties in with what the Fourth of July is all about…
I think so. It’s about celebrating community—there’s community in your family, community on your street, and one step further is community in your country. And for all of us to come together that kind of makes my heart and wings flutter. I happen to flutter a lot when I’m excited, so I hope I don’t fly off the stage. That would be very awkward!


For more information on A CAPITOL FOURTH go to: www.pbs.org/capitolfourth