Fireworks, festivals on tap for 4th of July

By Bob Rakow
Desplaines Valley News

There’s no shortage of  4th of July celebrations in the area next week as several communities host parades, fireworks shows and festivals to mark Independence Day.

The Bridgeview Park District will host its annual fireworks show at dusk on July 3 at Commissioners Park, 8100 S. Beloit Ave.

The show will be preceded by the inaugural Art in the Park Expo from 3-7 p.m.

Artists and budding artists 18 years old and younger are invited to submit their work for display. Participants are asked to label their work with their name, age, school and phone number. Only one submission per person is allowed. Artists must drop off their work by 5 p.m. July 2 at park district office, 8100 S. Beloit Ave.

In Summit, the Summit Park District will host an Independence Day celebration July 3 at the park district offices at 5700 S. Archer Road.

The event will include children’s games from 6-7 p.m. as well as free throw shooting and bean bag throwing contests at 6 p.m. Interested participants must sign up before the events. 

A concert of patriotic music performed by the West Suburban Concert Band will begin at 7:30 p.m. followed by the fireworks display at 9 p.m.

The village of Lyons will celebrate its quasquicentennial during the town’s annual Independence Day parade, which steps off at 1 p.m. July 4 on Joliet Avenue. The theme of the parade is the village’s 125^th anniversary.

The village will host a kid’s party at 7 p.m. at Veterans Park, Ogden and Lawndale avenues, and Smith Park, which is located across the street. The family-friendly event is designed for younger children and will feature music, games and face painting.

The annual fireworks show will begin at dusk at Smith and Veterans parks. Organizers encourage people to walk rather than drive to the event, which drew nearly 10,000 cars last year. The show’s grand finale will be longer than usual this year in celebration of the village’s 125^th anniversary.

Brookfield also will celebrate the 4th of July with a parade, which begins at 10 a.m. at Washington and Cleveland avenues and proceeds down Grand Boulevard to Brookfield Avenue and ends at the Village Hall.

The parade will be followed by music, food and fun beginning at noon at Kiwanis Park, 8820 Brookfield Ave. The Neverly Brothers are expected to perform from 12:30-2:15 p.m. followed by Deja Vu from 2:45-4:30 p.m. Battle of the Bands winners Far Sighted and Something's Not Right are expected to take the stage from 5-6 p.m.

The Pleasant Dale Park District will hold its annual fireworks show on July 3 at dusk at Walker Park, 7425 S. Wolf Road, Burr Ridge.

The following day, Boy Scout Troop 69 will hold its 14^th annual 4^th of July Pancake Breakfast. The event will take place from 7:30-11:30 a.m. at Walker Park.

Breakfast will feature pancakes, eggs, sausage, egg strata, fruit, orange juice and Starbucks coffee. There will be raffles, door prizes and a bake sale at the event. The cost is $5.

Those who’d rather see tomatoes than fireworks explode can take part in the Tomato Battle on July 6 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview.

Some 5,000 participants are expected at the event, which will feature dancing, beverages and a food fight involving 300,000 pounds of over ripe tomatoes being tossed at each other. 

Organizers describe the event as a combination of a German Oktoberfest and Spain’s La Tomatina tomato-throwing festival.

Festivities begin at noon with live entertainment and costume contest. The tomato battle commences at 4 p.m. when bathing suit-clad participants converge on a giant pile of tomatoes and pelt them at one another for three hours.

Eye protection, shoes with good tread and a change of clothes are highly recommended. Participants must be at least 14 years old. The cost is $50. Register at www.tomatobattle.com.