Fireworks Will Crown Fourth’s Day Of Festivities

The fireworks are sure to whistle and bang a little early this year.

Why?

July 4 isn’t until Tuesday. That means most Americans will want to ring in Independence Day over the weekend.

And why not? July 4 happens but once a year, so why not extend it into a four-day celebration?

But if it’s professional fireworks shows you’re after, you’ll mostly have to wait until the official Fourth, because the majority of the Inland Northwest Independence Day celebrations don’t occur until Tuesday.

Neighbor Days in Riverfront Park has stood for many years as Spokane’s explosive July 4 celebration.

The event kicks off Monday in the park.

As usual, there will be an Ethnic Food Fair both Monday and Tuesday in the the park’s Gondola Meadow. Food booths will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

On both nights, live bands will entertain from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. On Monday, Craig Volosing’s Goodtimes Band entertains at the Meadow. Then Tuesday, the Lindell Reason Band will do the honors.

The Clocktower Meadow will feature performances from numerous Inland Northwest bands (funk, blues, jazz, and more) from 3 to 7:30 p.m. Monday and 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday.

In the Lilac Bowl, local up-andcomer Black Forest plays Monday at 6 p.m.

Black Forest will be followed by the largely popular reggae/calypso/ soca band Jumbalassy at 8 p.m.

Tuesday, the Lilac Bowl will make way for performances from local bands starting at noon and lasting into to the evening.

The Spokane Jazz Orchestra featuring soprano Ann Fennessy will provide the musical backdrop for the thunderous fireworks spectacle when the pyrotechnics rocket into the pitch-black Spokane sky at 10:20 p.m.

There will be other sorts of activities going on in the park throughout the two days. A Velcro wall, where kids strap on a suit, spring into the air and stick onto an monstrous wall of Velcro, will be erected in the Central Meadow. Bouncy Boxing will be staged in the same area.

The regular Riverfront Park rides, games and other attractions will be open, too.

Those interested in watching the July 4 fireworks show from the comfortable setting of the Agricultural Trade Center rooftop can purchase $20 tickets through G&B Select-A-Seat outlets or by calling 325-SEAT.

Here are other options:

If you want to view the fireworks propelled from Riverfront Park from a different perspective, head to St. John’s Cathedral, 127 E. 12th.

Leading up to the amazing light show, the cathedral will present its annual climactic carillon concert at 9 p.m.

Using an array of bronze bells weighing between 21 and 5,000 pounds, Andrea McCrady and Nancy Cooper will play Revolutionary War and Civil War era hymns, ragtime and jazz pieces, and John Phillip Sousa’s marching favorites “Liberty Bell,” “Washington Post” and “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”

The concert is free.

Listeners are invited to bring blankets, lawn chairs and even picnic items. The concert can BE best heard outside the cathedral.

On Saturday, following the 7:05 p.m. baseball game at Seafirst Stadium, the Spokane Indians will light up the sky with a truly spectacular fireworks show.

On Thurday, when the team returns home, fireworks will again be launched over Seafirst Stadium, after the game.

General admission tickets to the ballgame are $3.50, and $2.50 for children and seniors. Box seat tickets are $5.50 for everyone. Call 535-2922 for tickets.

The Fourth of July Festival at Grand Coulee Dam kicks off early this year - on Sunday in the park below Grand Coulee Dam’s Visitor Arrival Center.

On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, a 40-minute laser-light show will be projected onto the face of the dam at 10 p.m.

On July 4, fireworks will be launched from the top of the dam starting at 10:35 p.m.

During the three-day festival, there will be all sorts of family-geared entertainment, such as games and other activities, in the park.

Food and arts and crafts vendors will also be on hand.

Admission to the park is free.

Coeur d’Alene always has a fun Independence Day Celebration going on.

This year, the big day will commence with an American Heroes Fourth of July Parade at 11 a.m. The parade starts at the corner of 15th and Sherman and ventures west on Sherman.

Prior to the parade, people of all ages can embark on a one-mile fun run down the parade route.

That night, fireworks will be hurled into the sky from a barge at the marina.

People can best see the fireworks from the parks, the City Beach, and the front lawn of The Coeur d’Alene Resort.

Othello is boasting a bigger, more elaborate fireworks show this year at its annual Sun Faire celebration in Lions Park.

Throughout the day, there will be lots of family events, such as a Sun Run, a tennis tournament, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, live music, hot-air balloon rides and a plethora of other activities.

The fireworks show gets off to an explosive start at 10 p.m.

The Sandpoint Lions Club has been staging Sandpoint’s July 4 celebrations for 42 years.

In keeping with tradition, the patriotic holiday will be initiated with a parade, which will wrap around downtown Sandpoint. The parade’s grand marshal is retired Col. Lawrence R. Tassie, who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

During the afternoon there will be all sorts of Fourth-of-July activities taking place on the City Beach. A carnival will occupy the beach Saturday through Wednesday.

And as soon as night falls, fireworks will dance in the sky above Lake Pend Oreille. The Lions Club pumped more money into the display this year.

The Clarkston Community Spirit July 4 event occurs Tuesday at Clarkston High School’s Adams Football Field.

The gates open at 6 p.m. From 7-10 p.m., live entertainment will be staged. Refreshments will also be available.

Then, at 10 p.m., fireworks will be propelled into the sky.

Before the event, from 5-7 p.m., the Clarkston Chamber of Commerce will hold a barbecue across the street in Vernon Park. The cost is $5.

Across the Snake River in Lewiston, KOZE radio sponsors its annual “Fourth of July Party on the Green” at Lewis-Clark State College from noon to 4 p.m.

The family-oriented event will be highlighted by a carnival, various food and craft vendors, a magician, a classic car show, and other live entertainment.

Admission is free.

Later in the evening, people can come to watch the fireworks display in Clarkston.

As part of Kootenai River Days, the Kiwanis Club in Bonners Ferry will present a fireworks display at the Boundary County Fairgrounds at dusk.

Before the fireworks show, the fairgrounds will present a community picnic and a country/bluegrass festival beginning at 1 p.m. There will be games, food, and displays.

The big fireworks spectacle for the Tri-Cities area is staged in Pasco at the Edgar Brown Memorial Stadium at dark - about 9:45 p.m.

Prior to the pyrotechnics, the Rattlers, a country band, will give a concert from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Admission to the stadium is free.

A host of events will take place in Memorial Park (about a block from the stadium) throughout the day until 4 p.m.

According to the Pasco Parks Department, every year a barge cruises down the Columbia River and launches fireworks over the river.

Depending on the weather, the barge usually arrives in the Tri-Cities about 10 p.m.