8 ball drops in Times Square will celebrate July 4 in every American time zone

The celebration of America's 250th birthday in New York City's Times Square is taking a page out of the New Year's Eve playbook. 

Times Square will host eight ball drops to celebrate Independence Day. Each ball drop will coincide with midnight in every American time zone. 

The first ball drop is set to take place at 10 a.m. on Friday, marking midnight in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, which are U.S. territories. 

The ball drops will be broadcast and livestreamed. Unlike the New Year's Eve celebration, however, there's no street-level viewing event planned in Times Square below. Instead, the event will be hosted from atop One Times Square. One Times Square is planning a free, ticketed "block party in the sky" on July 4 and 5. Both events are already at full capacity. 

Following the Guam ball drop, the next will take place at 11:59 p.m., marking midnight on the East Coast. That ball drop is considered the centerpiece of the event, although additional ball drops will take place overnight through each U.S. time zone - Central, Mountain, Pacific, Alaska, Hawaii and culminating in the finale at 7 a.m., marking midnight in American Samoa. 

"This is more than a countdown. It's a moment that brings the entire country together, one time zone at a time," said Rosie Rios, Chair of America250, the group organizing the event. "From Guam to New York to Alaska to American Samoa we are creating a shared experience where every American can see themselves in this celebration and be part of something bigger than any one city or moment."

America250 aims to support Giving 4th, an effort that hopes to encourage giving to various nonprofits and other charitable organizations as part of the semiquincentennial celebrations.