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FIREWORKS QUICKLIST
Today
Georgia
Lake Winnepesaukah, Lakeview
Barnhardt Circle
Georgia
Tater Hill, McCaysville (serves Copperhill, Tenn. also)
Cave Spring park on U.S. Highway 411, Cave Spring
Tennessee
Lookouts game at AT&T Field
Saturday
Lake Winnepesaukah, Lakeview
Coolidge Park
Signal Mountain playground at the Country Club
Soddy Lake, Soddy-Daisy
Alabama
Wildcat Football Stadium, Fort Payne
Henagar Park, Henagar
Goose Pond amphitheater, Scottsboro
Georgia
Lake Winnepesaukah, Lakeview
Summerville Recreation Center, Summerville
New Salem Community Center, New Salem
Lake Blue Ridge Marina, Blue Ridge
Ridge Ferry Park, Rome
Downtown Ellijay
Northwest Georgia Regional Fairgrounds, Calhoun
Heritage Park, Dalton
Tennessee
Pikeville Church of God, Pikeville
Centennial Park, Crossville
Huntland Park, Huntland
Sewanee Hospital, Sewanee
Monteagle pall park, Monteagle
City park, Jasper
River Park, South Pittsburg
Athens Regional Park, Athens
Downtown Etowah
Meigs County High School, Decatur
Mister Twister restaurant, Ten Mile
Town Square, Tellico Plains
Hoist House, Ducktown
Black Track Road ballpark, Graysville
Veterans Park, Spring City
Downtown Dunlap
Alabama
DEKALB
* Henagar: Live music, arts and crafts, entertainment and games and fireworks will take place this Saturday at Henagar Park. The celebration begins at 10 a.m. CDT and ends with a fireworks display. For more information, call 256-657-6282.
* Rainsville: The annual Crossroads Freedom Festival begins Saturday with the Freedom Fun Run/Walk 5K Road Race. Registration for the race begins at 7 a.m. CDT and costs $20. The race starts at 8 a.m. At 5:30 p.m., the Crossroads Freedom Festival Car and Cycle Show will be held in the parking lot of the First Bank of the South on Alabama Highway 35.
The celebrations really get started on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. in Rainsville City Park.
Visitors can expect plenty of food, inflatables, music and fireworks. In addition, the Rainsville city pool will be open to the public with free admission.
All the proceeds from food sales will go toward Rainsville First Baptist’s mission trips.
* Valley Head: Since 2003, the Sequoyah Caverns and Ellis Homestead has become a popular spot for those seeking a more adventurous kind of Fourth of July experience without sacrificing the holiday’s many traditional elements.
“During the daytime, (visitors) can do the normal tours of the caverns, and we have gem mining and a hiking trail also,” said John Jones, owner of Ellis Homestead.
Attendees also can expect plenty of bluegrass music and fireworks. “I enjoy the music most,” said Jones. “We have a campground that some use, and sometimes we have musicians that camp too.”
Jones said the event is very family friendly, and no alcohol is allowed on the premises. “It’s just a laid-back, cool place to be,” he said.
For more information about the events and prices at the Sequoyah Caverns and Ellis Homestead, call 256-635-0024 or visit www.sequoyahcaverns.com.
JACKSON
* Scottsboro: The party is in Scottsboro, Ala., where fireworks will be shot Saturday night at dark from the Goose Pond amphitheater on Lake Guntersvile. 256-574-3100.
— Compiled by Anne Braly, Clint Cooper, Barry Courter, Lisa Denton, Laura Galbraith, Karen Nazor Hill, Holly Leber, Casey Phillips and Susan Pierce.
georgia
CATOOSA
* Fort Oglethorpe: In Catoosa County, the place to be tonight is in Fort Oglethorpe for the Patriotism at the Post celebration, which beings at 7 at the polo field on Barnhardt Circle.
Special events for children will kick off the event, followed by a patriotic concert by L’Abri Symphony Orchestra at 8. Fireworks will close out the night at the conclusion of the concert.
About 4,000 people attended last year’s celebration. New events this year include a children’s patriotic coloring contest. The first-place winner in each age group will receive a $50 gift card. A children’s tent will be set up with inflatables, games and other activities.
Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and a flashlight. Concessions, including barbecue, hot dogs and kettle corn, will be available.
The event is free. Parking is $5 per vehicle.
For more information, call the 6th Cavalry Museum at 706-861-2860.
* Lakeview: Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park will light up the sky with fireworks shows at 10 p.m. today and Saturday.
The aerial display, reflected in the park’s signature water, has become a Lake Winnie trademark over the years.
The park will be open 10 a.m.-10 p.m. today and Saturday, as well as noon-10 p.m. Sunday. Regular rates apply for those who enter the park to watch the fireworks.
CHATTOOGA
* Summerville: Residents of Chattooga county will gather for a big Celebrate Independence party on Saturday. The fun starts at 5 p.m. at the Summerville Recreation Center on Bolling Road and concludes with a fireworks finale at dark. 706-859-0900.
DADE
* New Salem: Dade County residents will head to New Salem for the annual Fourth of July barbecue at the New Salem Community Center at 7 p.m. The community event ends with a fireworks show at dark. 706-657-4625
FANNIN
Residents of Fannin County can take in fireworks tonight or Saturday.
* McCaysville: The town of McCaysville celebrates the Fourth tonight when fireworks will be shot from Tater Hill at 9:30 p.m. 706-492-4921.
* Blue Ridge: Saturday, the Independence Day celebration moves to Lake Blue Ridge Marina. The fun starts at noon with a cookout and live music and concludes with fireworks at dusk. Admission is free, but concessions are sold. 706-632-2618.
FLOYD
* Rome: Rome and Floyd County Parks and Recreation will host its annual “Salute to America,” featuring live musical entertainment, children’s activities, contests and fireworks, on July 4 at Ridge Ferry Park.
Live music begins at 1 p.m., and the day concludes with fireworks at 10 p.m. The live music show that concludes in fireworks, including two shows by Kneck Down, begins at 5 p.m.
Prizes will be awarded in contests including watermelon eating, cherry pie eating and hula hooping. Traditional picnic food will be available for purchase throughout the day.
There is no charge for parking and admission. There is a charge for some children’s activities. For information, call event coordinator Lisa Nash at 706-291-0766, ext. 19.
* Cave Spring: Two days of activities are on tap for Cave Spring, which is on U.S. Highway 411 southwest of Rome. Today, country band Buck and Duke will play, inflatables will be available for children and barbecue dinners will be offered at 6 p.m. at the Cave Springs Pool in Rolater Park. The city’s namesake cave in the park also will be open. At dark, a fireworks display will be offered downtown next to the old fire hall on Little Cedar Creek.
On July 4, the 28th annual Fourth of July parade will be held through downtown. Following the parade, a car show will be offered on the town square and games available for children.
GILMER
* Ellijay: The Shades Band will provide the tunes as Ellijay celebrates the Fourth of July on Saturday. A parade, with the theme “Happy 175 Years in Ellijay,” opens the celebration at 10 a.m., leading from Sailors Drive and circling the roundabout in the town square. Artists, crafters and musicians will offer Art Around the Square throughout the day, and vendors will have food available between 4 and 9 p.m. Fireworks will start at 9:45 p.m.
“If you come to downtown you’ll find it,” said Ouida Leech, who’s helping organize events. “There’s lots of things going on.”
GORDON
* Calhoun: Fireworks billed as the largest display in Northwest Georgia will be the sunset sendoff for the Star-Spangled Celebration in Calhoun on Saturday. Gates open at 5 p.m., with festivities including music and wrestling starting at 6 p.m. Concessions will be available. Events take place at the Northwest Georgia Regional Fairgrounds, 300 S. Wall St.
MURRAY
* Chatsworth: The Murray County Recreation Department will sponsor a July 4th Celebration from 4 to midnight Saturday at 745 Chestnut St. in Chatsworth.
Organizers promise plenty of food, including homemade ice cream, funnel cakes, lemonade and blooming onions, as well as games for the kids, a 30-foot water slide and a live band.
Fireworks will start around 9:45 p.m. For more information, call 706-695-7359.
WALKER
* LaFayette: Fireworks, music and family fun are promised at the LaFayette’s annual Freedom Festival tonight.
Radio personality Kelly McCoy from KZ-106 in Chattanooga will emcee the event, which will be from 5 to 11 p.m. at the municipal park on 638 S. Main St. (South U.S. 27), next to the golf course. Admission is free.
The Bel-Aires will take will take the stage at 6:15 p.m. This local band’s repertoire includes hits by Elvis, the Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival and other rock artists of the 1950s and 1960s.
Headliner act The Rockerz will kick off its show at 7:30 p.m. The Atlanta band plays original songs and covers hits by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Robert Palmer, KC & The Sunshine Band, Pink Floyd and others. The traditional, Southern and modern rock, country, classic soul and funk music group was a big hit at last year’s festival, said organizers.
Following the music, fireworks will begin at dark after 9:30 p.m.
The event also will feature entertainment, food and activities vendors. An old-timers baseball game begins at 7 p.m., and the pool will be open for a free swim from 7 to 9 p.m. Registration for the 3-on-3 basketball tournament begins in the gym at 5:30 p.m.
Lawn chairs are recommended for seating.
The City of LaFayette and LaFayette Woman’s Club are sponsoring the event. For more information, call the LaFayette Parks and Recreation Department at 706-639-1590.
WHITFIELD
* Dalton: The annual Dalton Fireworks Festival offers a free evening of fun and fireworks — $15,500 worth, according to officials at Dalton Parks and Recreation Department — at Heritage Point Park on Saturday between 4 and 9:30 p.m.
Cross Plains, a country rock band, will provide entertainment beginning at 4. While they listen and wait for the 20-minute aerial show, attendees can purchase food from vendors or participate in a Krystal eating contest, a Little Debbie eating contest or the Little Miss Recreation contest.
The Freedomfest Talent Quest singing contest will begin at 5 p.m. The entry fee is $10, and the contest is limited to 15 people. The top five singers will perform before the fireworks. For information on the festival, call 706-278-5404, ext. 0.
tennessee
BLEDSOE
* Pikeville: Pikeville Church of God will start Bledsoe County’s daylong party at 10 a.m. CDT Saturday with concession sales and gospel music. In addition to a 45-minute, church-sponsored fireworks show at 9 p.m., members of the youth group will sell fireworks throughout the day to raise funds for youth camps and trips, according to Pastor Mitchell Wilson.
Concessions will include barbecue and homemade ice cream. There will be a nominal fee for concessions.
“Last year we cooked and gave it away,” Wilson said. “There’s some years we can afford to do that. It’s a little bit more difficult when you’re trying to pay for a building.”
Scheduled for completion later this year, the church’s new facility is at 13234 Main St. (Highway 127), just inside the city limits near Hubbard Farms. Visitors are welcome to park on the church’s 18-acre property, and Wilson said many folks line the highway to see the fireworks display.
“Pikeville has a population of about 1,500,” he said. “I think last year we had close to 3,000 people (watching fireworks). They come from all up and down the valley.”
BRADLEY
* Cleveland: Bradley County’s 10th annual Freedom Celebration, featuring music, prayer and pledges, begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Cleveland High School, 850 Raider Drive NW. The program is free.
CUMBERLAND
* Crossville: Cumberland County residents can delight in the Independence Day children’s parade, which begins at Palace Theater, 72 S. Main St., and ends at the Crossville Depot. The parade begins at 10 a.m. CDT. A fireworks festival will take place at nightfall in Centennial Park.
FRANKLIN
Franklin County residents have plenty to choose from this weekend for July 4 fun.
* Huntland: In Huntland, the free annual two-day Fourth of July festival kicks off today at 1 p.m. CDT with an opening ceremony. Rave Gymnastics will perform at 1:10 p.m. Other events today include a performance by Inside Out from 2 to 5 and a Corvette car show from 5 to 6:30. A concert by Radio Active will close out the evening starting at 7.
Saturday, the celebration continues with a parade at 10 a.m. at the high school. Four bands will play on a stage at Huntland Park from 1 to 11 p.m., with a fireworks display closing out the festivities.
There will also be a free kid zone open at noon each day with a bounce house and water slide.
* Sewanee: Sewanee residents will also have plenty to occupy them with An Old-Fashioned Fourth, the city’s free, annual, two-day celebration taking place throughout the city starting tonight at 7 with the Sewanee Summer Music Festival’s student chamber music concert. A street dance with the Southern Haulers will keep things going until midnight.
A flag raising will start things off Saturday. Events will be held throughout the day, including an arts and crafts fair, cat fashion show, cake decorating contest and an air show. A parade will start at 2 p.m. from Sewanee Hospital. A fireworks blowout at dark will seal the deal.
* Winchester: The Circle E Guest Ranch and Campground outside Winchester is hosting a dance party tonight at 8 featuring Utopia. The event will include camping and trail riding (bring your own horse), vendors selling barbecue and a BYOB option. Admission is $7. For more information, call 931-962-1790 or visit www.circleeguestranch.com.
GRUNDY
* Monteagle: Parades will decorate the streets of Grundy County, and fireworks will light the night sky. From the right vantage point, you may see simultaneous fireworks as they’re set off from the Monteagle ballpark east of town as well as the ballpark behind Monteagle Assembly, both beginning at dusk on Saturday evening.
“We always have quite a big show,” said Maxine Wade, Monteagle Chamber of Commerce executive director.
Earlier in the day, though, the town’s finest come out in celebration of Independence Day. Parades begin at 10 a.m. CDT starting at The Smokehouse in Monteagle.
* Tracy City: Tracy City’s July Fourth parade begins at 6 p.m. CDT near Tag Plastics and snakes its way through downtown.
MARION
* Jasper: The Jasper Regional History Museum will have an Old-Fashioned Fourth of July Celebration from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CDT Saturday, preceding the city’s fireworks display at city park at dark.
Daytime events include two Civil War re-enactment skirmishes at the Marion County Fairgrounds field at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. A Civil War suttlers camp also will be set up for visitors to see.
On display in the museum yard will be Civil War-era tools and artifacts, as well as antique tractors and other farm implements. At 3 p.m., prizes will be given to the top three cars in an antique auto show. Local musicians will perform throughout the day.
Inside the museum, visitors can learn the history of the Civil War in the Sequatchie Valley. Author Billyfrank Morrison will autograph books in his Postcard History Series, featuring the latest, “Marion County in Vintage Postcards.”
Picnic concessions will be available for sale. Admission is free, though donations to the museum are appreciated.
The museum is at 715 Phillips Ave. across from the tennis courts at the Jasper walking track next to Marion County High School. Lawn chairs are recommended for seating.
For more information, call M.K. Flood at 423-942-1800 or J. Jennings at 942-9500.
* South Pittsburg:
The Atlanta Rhythm Section will headline South Pittsburg’s Fourth of July Festival at the River Park (boat dock).
Others in the lineup are the Sammi Moore Band, Tim McGraw tribute artist Buck McCoy and Haletown comedian Cousin Ricky Peardon. Entertainment starts just after noon CDT Saturday with two shows by each of the featured performers.
As is tradition, the South Pittsburg Lions Club will give away a 2009 Ford Ranger XL provided by Moss Motor Co. Club members are selling 425 chances on the truck at $50 each. A reverse drawing starts at 1 p.m. The last name drawn wins, and each 13th name drawn gets a consolation prize.
Schedule
12:15 p.m. Sammi Moore Band
1:15 p.m. Buck McCoy
2:15 p.m. Sammi Moore Band
3 p.m. Karaoke
4 p.m. Cousin Ricky Peardon
4:30 p.m. Atlanta Rhythm Section
5:30 p.m. Buck McCoy
6:15 p.m. Jerry Blevins
7 p.m. Cousin Ricky Peardon
7:30 p.m. Atlanta Rhythm Section
9 p.m. Fireworks
MCMINN
* Athens: The city of Athens will present its annual July 4 fireworks display at 9:30 p.m. Saturday at Athens Regional Park. This is one of the largest fireworks displays in East Tennessee and is produced by Pyro Shows of Lafollette, Tenn. Games and other activities on the park grounds will begin at 6 p.m.
Austin Fesmire, director of Parks and Recreation, called the event, co-sponsored by Comcast, “an intense 20 minutes of some of the best fireworks from around the world.”
While the Athens show is all about fireworks, there will be several activities inside the park beforehand. The Shoney’s pie-eating contest, giant plinko, target golf, washer pitching and other games will be held on the concession stand plaza. New for 2009 is the addition of a mechanical bull.
“We had the opportunity to have the mechanical bull at the park on July 4, and we jumped at the chance,” said Fesmire. “Riding the mechanical bull is one of those things that should be on everyone’s list of things to do in their lifetime, especially all of the old John Travolta, ‘Urban Cowboy’ fans who thought it looked easy in the movie. From personal experience I can assure you that it is a lot of fun and something you can brag about on the Fifth,” he said.
The Athens fireworks will be shot from the eastern hillside at the Athens Regional Park.
The hiking trail on the eastern side of the park will be closed all day Saturday due to fireworks regulations. “We will spend the better part of two days building racks and laying ignition wire to prepare for this show. It is imperative that people respect the areas that have been closed for safety purposes,” said Fesmire.
After the fireworks, Highway 30 at the entrance to the Athens Regional Park will be tapered to one lane by the Athens Police Department to allow cars in the park to exit. Traffic will be routed east only onto Highway 30.
* Etowah: Etowah will hold an old-fashioned July Fourth Celebration Spectacular beginning with a Boy Scout pancake breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. That will be followed by a road race, patriotic program, beauty pageant, square dancing and live music. Performing will be Amber Murphy, Tim Jamerson/The Schofields, Michael Viscuso & Sons, Kelly Dennis, Gillie Roberts and the community choir.
The Etowah Town Band will perform patriotic music at 6:30 p.m., and Strictly Business will play at 8 p.m. A fireworks show is at 9:45, with live music to continue at 10 p.m.
MEIGS
* Decatur: Fireworks will be shot on the Meigs County High School football field just after dark.
* Ten Mile: Mister Twister restaurant, 2593 State Highway 304, will host a celebration Saturday featuring live music, giveaways and fireworks at dark. Performing will be Reno and Conviction beginning at 5 p.m.
MONROE
* Sweetwater: Monroe County will begin its July 4 festivities early in the day with Sweetwater’s annual Fourth of July parade at 10 a.m. Saturday. The parade will end at the gazebo downtown. Lineup begins at 9 a.m. in the Plaza 68 parking lot.
* Tellico Plains: Fireworks and a street party will follow later that evening in downtown Tellico Plains. The street party begins at 5 p.m. at the Town Square.
POLK
* Ducktown: Two days of activities are planned in Ducktown for the 2009 Miners Homecoming. Today from 4 to 7 p.m., The Hoist House will have music by the Barker Brothers and hamburgers and hot dogs. From 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., the Main Street Live Gospel Music Show will feature Mandy Dixon, The Kaylor Family, Back to Bethany and Copper City Quartet.
Saturday’s lineup starts with a pancake breakfast at the Hoist House and continues with a full day of parades, soup bean dinner, kids alley games, rubber duck race, homecoming pageant, classic car cruise-in and a gospel music show featuring Mine City Baptist Choir and Youth Drama Team and the Coletown Baptist Choir starting at 4 p.m. The Raven Welch Band will perform bluesgrass music at 6 p.m., and the C.C. Morgan Band will add some rock ’*’ roll to the day at 8 p.m. Fireworks will end the day at 10 p.m.
* Copperhill: In Copperhill, the independence weekend fireworks display will take place tonight at 9:30. Fireworks will be fired from Tater Hill in McCaysville, Ga. The event is sponsored by the Tri-Cities Business Association and Glenn Springs Holdings. Call 877-790-2157 for more information.
RHEA
* Graysville: Tennessee Championship Wrestling will be part of Graysville’s July 4th Bash at the ballpark on Black Track Road. Fights start at 6 p.m. and include a bullrope match for the TCW heavyweight championship and the CWF heavyweight title match between former National Wrestling Alliance heavyweight champion Tommy “Wildfire” Rich vs. Championship Wrestling Federation Casey Kage with Jay West.
Before the bouts, festivalgoers can help their favorite wrestlers cool off in the dunk tank (three balls for $1) and get autographs from Wildfire Rich. Those events start at 4 and 5 p.m., respectively.
Tickets are $7 adults, $5 children 5-12. Bring a chair and get $1 off the ticket price.
Following the wrestling show, the Graysville Fire Department will provide a pyrotechnics display.
On the wresting card
* TCW heavyweight championship match: Keith Hart vs. Robbie Lee Jordan
* Rhea County Street Fight: Justin Richards vs. Kayden Christopher
* CWF heavyweight title match: Tommy “Wildfire” Rich vs. CWF heavyweight champion Casey Kage with Jay West
* TCW/CWF tag team title unification match: The Wild Boyz (Ben Thrasher and Jason Hampton) vs. Mirror Image (K.T. Hamill and Brian Rivers)
* Also appearing: Shawn Fire, Tyler Sutton, Quintin Bradley, Big Wood and Nightmare
* Spring City: Big, booming fireworks give Spring City its Independence Day celebration, Shake the Lake, at Veterans Park.
Preceding that nighttime ritual are activities for all ages. “The babies can race in the diaper derby, the kids can get their faces painted, and mom and dad can compete in the pickle or watermelon eating contests,” according to a news release.
Attendees can enjoy live music as well as craft and food vendors during the day. Little Mr. and Miss Firecracker pageants will crown winners.
For more information, call 423-762-8916.
SEQUATCHIE
* Dunlap: July Fourth is a day for celebration in Sequatchie County. Starting at 10 a.m. CDT, a huge parade will make its way from the old middle school on Heart Street through downtown to the courthouse, where vendors will be set up with food and volunteers will have games for the kids.
It’s a lot of old-fashioned fun, said Lorene Williams, executive assistant at the Sequatchie County-Dunlap Chamber of Commerce.
At dusk, fireworks will shoot high into the sky from the ridge surrounding Dunlap. “Park anywhere in town, and you can see them,” Williams said. It’s a communitywide party with people coming home for the holidays and visitors coming just to see what it’s all about, she said.