Lots of ways to celebrate July 4th

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Parades, concerts, barbecues and fireworks are just a few of the ways local residents can celebrate America’s independence.

Communities throughout the area will host Fourth of July celebrations through this weekend. Listed below are a few ways you can celebrate the holiday.

Granville

Granville’s July 4th celebrations kick off tonight at Veterans Park as the band Grand Central Station will take the bandstand stage at 7 p.m.

This six-member band boasts a play list that features songs from contemporary artists such as Alicia Keys and Keith Urban and classic rock performers like Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Beatles.

The band is made up of Mia Scirocco, Paul DeBiase, Frank DeBiase, Pete Zarrillo, Bob Zampino, and Jenry Bejarano.

Tonight’s concert will also feature the Mettowee Valley Ecumenical Council’s strawberry social and the Mason’s chicken barbecue.

A municipal fireworks display will follow the concert at the Granville Little League Fields.

The festivities continue the next day as one of the community’s most beloved summer traditions—The Granville Lions Club Field Day—returns to the Little League complex at 9:30 a.m.

The event affords children, ages four to 13, an opportunity to participate in a variety of field games from balloon races to shuttle runs. A massive tug of war contest caps the day’s activities.

“As we celebrate Independence Day, this gives the Lions and the children of the community a way to get together to participate in exciting events,” said Jay Niles, Lions President. “It’s a great for the Lions to kick off the summer.”

All children who participate will receive a Kid’s Day t-shirt and a Stewart’s Shop ice cream cone certificate. Ribbons will be awarded to the top three place finishers.

Participants are asked to arrive early so organizers have time to register all children. Participation is completely free.

Salem

The final two days of the Salem Volunteer Fire Department’s annual carnival will be held tonight and tomorrow at the fairgrounds on Archibald Street.

The carnival will feature music, food, games, and some amusements, such as a bounce house.

A parade will step off from the Holy Cross Church on Main Street tomorrow at 5 p.m. and will feature floats, horses, tractors, children on bicycles and much more.

The carnival comes to an end with a fireworks display tomorrow at 9:30 p.m.

Poultney, Vt
Those who feel a holiday is best enjoyed by attending a parade will want to head Poultney, Vt., on Thursday.

Besides the parade, the community’s Independence Day celebration will feature food, live music, entertainment and fireworks.

The festivities begin at bright and early as the Martin Devlin Memorial 5K Fun Run/Walk steps off from the Green Mountain College campus at 8 a.m. Participants can register beginning at 6:45 a.m. and awards will be given out at 9:15 a.m.

The cost to race is $15 for adults and $10 for children ages 16 and younger. Proceeds will benefit the Rutland Area Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice program.

After the race, runners may want to consider stopping by the Methodist Church and refueling with an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast hosted by the Poultney Methodist Men’s Club. The breakfast will be served from 8 to 10:30 a.m.

The annual parade will step off from the East Poultney Church at 10 a.m. and will feature marching bands, the Shriners, and a number of floats.

The procession will travel down Main Street before heading west and ending at the Poultney Elementary School.

Once at the school, attendees will find a variety of engaging activities, including field games, baseball, music and a puppet show, entitled “Jack and the Beanstalk” and produced by the No Strings Marionette Company.

The Adirondack Cowgirls will entertain audiences with their synchronized horse, a magic show will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. and Gold Town will perform at 6 p.m. The Poultney Snowmobile Club will serve food, DJ John Saltis will spin some tunes and cheerleaders will hand out glow sticks.

The evening reaches its crescendo with a fireworks show at dusk.

Lake St. Catherine, Vt

A few miles south of Poultney, a different sort of parade will be held on the waters of Lake St. Catherine.

The Lake St. Catherine Association will host its July 4th Boat parade shortly after 1 p.m.

Boats will gather at Forest House Bay and proceed along the west side of the lake before crossing near the state park and heading south along the east side of the lake.

Prizes will be given out to decorated boats in a number of categories and children who participate will receive ice cream cone certificates.

For more information, call Lila Burgner at 802-287-9372.

Castleton, Vt

Yet another parade, perhaps the most unique of them all, will be held tomorrow morning in Castleton.

The Vermont Governor’s Institute on the Arts will present its annual Samba parade beginning at 10:30 a.m.

Approximately 125 high school students enrolled in the VGIA program have created a variety of puppets, many made from paper-mache that will be paraded down Main Street to the sounds of samba music.

Admission to the parade is free and revelers are encouraged to dance to the music as the procession passes.

Fair Haven, Vt

The community of Fair Haven, Vt., will celebrate the holiday with the 40th Army Band of the Vermont National Guard.

The concert will be held Friday at 7 p.m. on the Town Green.

The band, under the direction of Chief Warrant Officer David A. Myers, will perform a concert entitled “An American Tapestry.” The program will feature patriotic American tunes including Sousa marches as well as other American musical favorites.

FormerWCAX on air personality, Marselis Parsons, will serve as guest announcer for the concert, the featured vocalist will be Gary Moreau and Mount Mansfield Union High School senior to be, David Brown, will be the guest soloist on the French horn.

During the concert, concessions will be available and hand-held American Flags will be given free of charge to the first 1,000 audience members. There will also be a 50/50 drawing with proceeds going to the Dodge House of Rutland, a facility for homeless veterans.

 Hubbardton, Vt

If you want to learn more about American Independence you’d be hard pressed to find a better place to be this weekend that Hubbardton, Vt.

The Battle of Hubbardton Living History Weekend will be held on Saturday and Sunday, July 6 and 7 at the Hubbardton Battefield Historic Site.

The event is the 236th anniversary of the only Revolutionary War battle fought in Vermont and features activities for everyone.

Re-enactors will portray soldiers who fought at the Battle of Hubbardton and there will be tactical military demonstrations, drilling lessons, guided camp and battlefield tours, camp life activities, Mistress Davenport’s Schoolroom, history scavenger hunt, colonial games, children’s activities, music, and shopping on sutler’s row. An re-enactment of the battle will occur on Sunday morning and food will be available on both days. Activities will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

The cost of admission is $5 for adults and free for children younger than 15. Call 802-273-2282 for more information.

Ticonderoga

Dubbed the “Best 4th in the North,” Ticonderoga’s Independence Day celebration actually spans four days and guests still have time to enjoy the final two days of the carnival-like festivities.

Bicentennial Park will be host to a variety of amusement rides, vendors and food until 10 tonight.

Amusement ride bracelets can be purchased for $20 from 5 to 9 p.m. and White Hot Monkey Love and Buffalo Barfield & Un-herd of Entertainment will perform this evening.

The action gets off to an early start tomorrow as amusements in Bicentennial Park are slated to open at 10:30 a.m.

At 1:45 p.m. the annual Montcalm Mile will be held in downtown Ticonderoga. The run will begin on Wicker Street and conclude on Montcalm Street.

The annual Fourth of July parade will follow the same route beginning at 2 p.m.

Howard and Susan Rathbun will serve as grand marshals and this year’s theme is “Movie Classics.”

At 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Buffalo Barfield will perform yet again and Joe McGinness and Longshot will take the stage at 7:30 p.m.

The festivities will conclude with a fireworks display beginning at 9:30 p.m.

Elsewhere in the community, Fort Ticonderoga will celebrate our nation’s independence with a variety of activities.

Guests will be able to meet the soldiers of the Northern Department of Continental Army, see how the soldiers prepared their cannons, ammunition and themselves to meet the British Army.

You’ll also see rations cooked, logs hewn, a performance by the fort’s fife and drums corps and witness the fort’s 1776 restoration in action.

“1776 was a year of rebuilding the Northern Army as part of building a new nation,” said Stuart Lilie, Fort Ticonderoga’s Director of Interpretation. “While the Continental Congress discussed the finer points of declaring independence in Philadelphia, the shattered remnants of the Continental Army which had come so close to capturing Quebec trickled back down to Fort Ticonderoga. Frost bitten, starving, and decimated by smallpox these soldiers began building up bulwarks and America’s first navy to defend their new nation. A new Continental Army emerged reinforced by soldiers from Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire and New York, to guard Fort Ticonderoga.”

For more information, visit www.fortticonderoga.org.