The July 4 holiday in Mount Airy will be filled with fun activities including a parade and fireworks, along with a proper tribute to the historic document that got it all started.
An annual Fourth of July parade is scheduled next Thursday morning downtown along with a reading of the Declaration of Independence.
The festivities will be capped off that night with a fireworks show at Veterans Memorial Park on West Lebanon Street.
Parade plans
Motorized units in the holiday parade are slated to roll off from Veterans Memorial Park at 11 a.m. on Independence Day and proceed to North Main Street.
Parade participants who are walking will join in at Truist Bank on North Main Street as the procession meanders through the central business district.
“We are expecting close to 100 entries,” Jennie Lowry of the Downtown Business Association said Friday.
The list will include floats by local businesses and organizations, military groups, unique vehicles including motorcycles, kiddie trains and more.
A large crowd typically lines both sides of North Main Street downtown, including many spectators who wear red, white and blue in honor of the occasion.
Ericca Latza, a country music singer/songwriter who grew up in Mount Airy and now is based in Nashville, will serve as grand marshal for the parade.
One special group of paraders to be on hand are fans of Donna Fargo, including participants in a Fargo look-alike contest last year.
They will be in the procession to bring awareness to a movement aimed at having the singer from Mount Airy inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The group plans to hand out information at the Donna Fargo Mural after the parade on how to support this cause.
Declaration event
Another traditional Fourth of July activity downtown will be hosted by Mount Airy Museum of Regional History.
The reading of the Declaration of Independence is scheduled Thursday at 11 a.m. in the courtyard of the museum at 301 N. Main St.
It will be conducted by Brack Llewellyn, who is known for his work in community theater productions and will be dressed in historic attire Thursday topped by a tricorn, or three-cornered hat.
The Declaration of Independence launched America’s path to freedom from the British on July 4, 1776.
Organizers say the timing is such that the reading should be complete by the time the parade reaches the downtown area.
Evening fireworks
Independence Day activities will conclude with a bang Thursday night at Veterans Memorial Park with a fireworks show that is free to the public.
The park will be open at 6 p.m. for activities including music and food trucks offering items for sale.
This will lead up to the fireworks starting about 9:15 p.m., sponsored by Eagle Carports.
The show is to be presented by Wetzel Pyrotechnics, based in Moyock.
A big crowd attended the event last year, park spokeswoman Judy Joyner said Friday.
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