I'm thinking of staying in Chapel Hill for the fireworks instead of hitting up the State Fairgrounds (my usual romping grounds on the 4th ever since undergrad at State). How do they compare? Who has been to the firework display in Chapel Hill, is it very good? Are there any good spots in town where you can park & watch w/o going to the main event as you can with the State Fairgrounds firework display? Will WCHL be covering the event live? Any other fun ideas for the 4th in Chapel Hill/Carrboro? What are you doing for the 4th?
I found this News Release on the Town of Chapel Hill's shiney new website:
http://www.ci.chapel-hill.nc.us/index.aspx?page=22&recordid=385&returnURL=%2Findex.aspx
"News Review
06/24/2009 - The Town
of Chapel Hill, in cooperation with UNC-Chapel Hill, 1360 WCHL and the
Town of Carrboro, will present a July 4th celebration at Kenan Memorial
Stadium on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. Johnny White and The Elite Band
are scheduled to perform at 8 p.m. with fireworks to follow at 9:30
p.m. Gates open with children's entertainment at 7 p.m.
Guests
are encouraged to come early and save a seat for the fireworks
extravaganza. There will be fun for the whole family including face
painting with Paint Savvy, world record juggler the Juggle Boy, and
balloon twisting with roaming magic by Clown Willie. Everyone will
enjoy Johnny White and The Elite Band's wide variety of sounds,
including Motown medleys, Top 40 hits, Carolina beach music, R&B,
blues, country and big band.
Free glow necklaces donated by
Grace Church will be given to the first 8,000 in the gate. Attendees
can enter through Gates 6, 7 and 8 at Kenan Stadium's south side.
Parking will be provided at Craige, Jackson and Cardinal parking decks
off Manning Drive, and public parking including disability parking will
be available at the Ram's Head parking deck off Ridge Road. Concessions
will be available to the public."
I'm wondering what if any cost is associated with going? Do you hav to go for the whole event? Can you show up 20 minutes before the fireworks and still be able to watch as a group of 2 or 4? The music selection isn't exactly my style, it isn't bad by any means, but I'm not super keen on sitting through 2 & a half hours of it to get to the show of light & fury signifying independence... even if those glow necklaces do sound tempting
So who has been to a fire works show in Chapel Hil, and what did you think? What other events are going on locally in celebration of 4th, and what are you doing that day?
Issues:
Comments
Canada Day... didn't want to leave it out
Since I have two Canadian coworkers (at a small local vet clinic, so thats like a tenth of our staff), and Canada is the only other country I've been to outside of the US, I thought it was worth mentioning Canaday Day. I don't know if there are any Canadians in this online community, or anyone who observed they holiday, but if you did, what did you do? I rigged up out internet radio & paging system to announce appointment arrivals to play 'O Canada' throughout the vet clinic. One of the best sayings to come out of the last election was "It's time to be patriotic about something other than war" and I think this weekend will be a great time to celebrate that kind of patriotism (even for those maple leafers out there)
annual firecracker metric
Always fun, and local: http://www.capcycling.org/events-fireCracker.php
Kenan trick
There's no charge to watch the Kenan Stadium show, and you can leave whenever you want. But there's a grassy hillside just behind the stadium, great vantage point without the seating struggle.
CHM List
Chapel Hill Magazine list of activities: http://www.chapelhillmagazine.com/blog/
Thanks for the info & tips
everyone! =)
Carrboro!
As usual, our neighbors to the left are where it's at for this party. In lieu of posting the complete schedule, check out the Carrboro July 4th website. The fun starts on my home turf on the Weaver Street lawn, and follows the parade down the street at 11am to Carrboro Town Hall for the rest of the afternoon.Of course, there's also the Festival for the Eno today, tomorrow, and Sunday, which I've never had the chance to go to but I've only heard good things about. This year they have over eighty performers on four stages.
Carrboro vs. Eno
The Carrboro celebration is free; the Eno Festival is $15 at the gate -- swell entertainment, many options, but darn pricy. Budget another half hour (at least) on each end for park 'n ride service. I highly recommend the Carrboro offering.
Pictures & Symbols
This thread felt short on pictures & symbols, so I thought I'd throw in a few taken by my camera. Feel free to share any pictures from past Independence Day celebrations or anything related. Boston Public Library USS North Carolina I've always been a fan of the Betsy Ross Flag.