Area to mark 4th with 4 fireworks shows

If you enjoy fireworks shows, the Albemarle is the place to be over the next several days.

No fewer than four Independence Day celebrations, each featuring a fireworks show, are scheduled for either Wednesday, Thursday or Saturday.

Elizabeth City kicks off the Fourth of July celebrations at 5 p.m. Wednesday with events at Waterfront Park. Attendees will be treated to live music, food vendors, a splash pad, yard games, and magic shows before the fireworks show starts at 9:15 p.m.

The 2nd Wynd Band, an R&B, soul and jazz band from Hampton Roads, Virginia, is scheduled to perform. DJ Taz will also be playing music.

For the kids, the Elizabeth City Fire Department will create a temporary splash pad and Shelia Schultheiss, better known as Miss Shelia, will provide facepainting. While no fee is charged for the facepainting, adults are asked to tip the artist.

Elizabeth City’s Fourth of July celebration will also include Kingery Magic, a magic show featuring John Kingery of Norfolk, Virginia, and an appearance by Joy the Clown in the “kids zone” near Museum of the Albemarle. The event will also feature lawn games, inflatables for kids, free axe throwing provided by Kin’Folk Axe Throwing, and a mobile gamer bus.

“We’ll also have 14 food and beverage trucks, market vendors, as well as products sold by Seven Sounds Brewery, Avdet Brewery, Ghost Harbor Brewery, and Sanctuary Vineyards,” Stacey Williams of the Elizabeth City Parks and recreation Department said.

The celebration will culminate with a fireworks show by Wetzel Pyrotechnics of Moyock starting at approximately 9:15 p.m. Attendees can watch the fireworks show from the museum lawn, Mariners Wharf Park or other downtown and waterfront sites.

Water Street will be closed between Main and Shepard streets during the entire event.

The celebrations continue on Thursday, July 4, with events in both Edenton and Currituck County. In Edenton, the Edenton Tea Party Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution will host its award-winning 25th annual Independence Day celebration at the Joseph Hewes monument on the Historic Chowan County Courthouse green starting at 10 a.m.

Retired Navy Petty Officer Rae Varian Ohlert will read the Declaration of Independence and Martha Whitted Smith, historian for the Edenton Tea Party chapter of DAR, will give a brief biographical sketch of Hewes, an Edenton resident who signed the Declaration of Independence.

The Chowan-Edenton Optimist Club will then host its annual Fourth of July celebration at Colonial Park starting at 4 p.m. The event will feature food vendors, a watermelon-eating contest, a penny hunt and a video game trailer. DJ Cowboy will provide the musical entertainment. A fireworks show that starts at dusk will cap off the evening.

In Currituck, the Currituck Historical Society will sponsor a Kids Parade at the Currituck Courthouse Thursday at 10 a.m. Kids are encouraged to deck out their bikes in a patriotic theme. Prizes will be awarded and all participants will receive a new $2 bill from Towne Bank.

Then starting at 5 p.m., the Currituck County Department of Travel & Tourism will host its Independence Day celebration at Historic Corolla Park in Corolla. The Dickens will perform live music until 8:30 p.m. leading up to the start of the fireworks show.

The event will feature free, first-come, first-serve parking starting at 3 p.m. until the park’s lots are full. No on-street parking will be permitted in the park.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase from local vendors. No coolers or alcohol will be permitted. No boat docking will be allowed and only leashed dogs will be permitted.

If you’re not fireworked out by Saturday, the towns of Hertford and Winfall are hosting a joint Independence Day celebration that gets underway on both sides of the Perquimans River at 5 p.m. and culminates with a fireworks show starting at 9 p.m.

Doris Walton, Hertford assistant town manager, said DJ Cowboy will play music before the fireworks show begins. Four food trucks will also be set up near Missing Mill Park from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

“For the kids, we will have will ring toss, sidewalk chalk drawing options and a portable splash pad in Missing Mill Park,” Walton said.

Seeds of Success will provide lemonade and water while supplies last.

Winfall Mayor Preston White said the fireworks show will be visible from the lawn of Winfall’s Town Hall and Missing Mill Park in Hertford. Park bathrooms will be available in Winfall and porta potties will be stationed in Hertford.

Folding chairs are welcome at both sites. Grubb Street will be closed between East Academy and West Academy streets in Hertford during the event.

Staff writer Kesha Williams and Chowan Herald writer Vernon Fueston contributed reporting for this story.