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July 2nd - July 8th

by Pam & Michael Davison

Happy Independence Day! Whether you are heading out of town, hosting visitors or just having a quiet holiday, ParkGeek.com has such a great variety of events so you can make the most of your down time.

Independence Day

Just about every city and town in the Triangle is hosting something fun for the Independence Day Holiday. Whether you are looking for breakfast and a kids parade or fireworks and live concerts, ParkGeek.com has it all for you!
 
Many events take place on July 3rd this year. The Town of Garner's Independence Day Celebration festivities start Friday with kids inflatables and the sounds of the Soulplay Band and end with the North Carolina Symphony and a Fireworks Display.
 
The Town of Fuquay-Varina will host the annual Independence Day Celebration on the third, also. There will be fun for the whole family with fireworks, live music by Spare Change, food, and free carnival rides to enjoy at South Park.
 
Morrisville's Fireworks are on the 3rd! If you are an early riser, you can head over to Morrisville to enjoy a July 4th Pancake Breakfast and live entertainment on the 4th. Tickets should be purchased in advance so click through for the information
 
4th of July Celebration in Wake Forest will also start the weekend off with a bang. Friday night at Wake Forest-Rolesville High School, there will be a concert by Apples & Airplanes, games, live entertainment and fireworks. The gates open at 5:30 pm and admission is $5 per person (kids under six are free).
 
For a slightly different twist, come to the Cary Arts Center on Friday to experience the Independence Eve Celebration at Sertoma. Applause! Cary Youth Theatre will present an Independence Eve performance. Following the performance, there will be a concert by the Cary Town Band.
 
Bond Park is  hosting an Olde Time Celebration on the 4th. The fun begins early with a parent-child fishing tournament and a parade. The day continues with family contests including doughnut and watermelon eating concerts, lakeside Olympics, balloon volleyball and seed spitting contests.
 
Apex honors an Old Fashion 4th of July on Saturday with Uncle Sam's Parade of Wheels and an afternoon of fun with food, inflatables, street performers, Karaoke, carnival games, climbing wall and cake walk. After the parade, enjoy the Apex Fire Department's Splash Down!
 
Saturday is also the Children's Independence Day Parade and Family Fun at Durham Central Park. Decorate your bike or wagon and join them for a parade, a frozen treat and some great music.
 
Following the Wake Forest Children's Parade, head on over to R.H. Forrest Field for Art-in-the-Park and Games-in-the-Park. Some of the game activities will include sack races, watermelon seed spitting contest, and a pie eating contest.
 
The City of Raleigh presents their July 4th Celebration. "The Works" starting around noon with Hot Dog Eating Contests, watermelon seed spitting contest, dunk tank, rock wall, street and aerialist performers, water zone, face painting and balloon artists, beer and wine tent, and magic. While your downtown, Marbles Kids Museum will be celebrating Red, White and Blue for YOU with several days of family fun (and air conditioning). On the 4th, come to their Beach Ball Dance Party. The North Carolina Museum of History and North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (including the Nature Research Center) will be open 9am-5pm on the 4th.
 
Celebrating Independence Day provides an opportunity to look back in time. The Independence Day Open House at the Joel Lane House is a great place to reflect on colonial life. On the grounds, re-enactors will demonstrate various aspects of colonial life such as spinning and dyeing. The garden will be on view and herbs from the garden will be for sale. There will be old fashioned crafts and games as well as lemonade for the children. In addition to outdoor activities, the circa 1770 plantation manor house and the 1790 kitchen building will be open.
 
The State Capitol is another great historical location to celebrate our Independence! Enjoy a family-oriented Independence Day celebration with a patriotic concert and picnic. A naturalization ceremony for new citizens, trolley rides, musical performances, food and historic demonstrators round out this patriotic day of fun.
 
The Town of Carrboro will be celebrating on the 4th with loads of live entertainment, kids inflatables, games, face painting, a toddler square, a kid's fun zone and even a costume
contest and traditional Main Street Parade. Right around the corner,
 
Historic Hillsborough will start their Picnic in the Park early with a parade, public reading of the Declaration of Independence, bands, pony rides, lawn games, food trucks and a pie bake-off.
 
Then there are the evening programs. The Mebane Fourth of July Family Music Festival will feature live music, food vendors and a fireworks display.
 
The Cary Independence Day Concert & Fireworks at Regency Park is another great family event with patriotic music and fireworks.
 
In Durham, you can enjoy a Durham Bulls game with the Independence Week Celebration. The Bulls will be playing July 2nd and 3rd with fireworks. The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team will take on the Chinese Taipei on July 4th and 5th. Those games will also be followed by fireworks. Tickets are required for the baseball game, but the gates will be opened for free admission at the end of the 7th inning.
 
Lastly, the fireworks and festivities in Chapel Hill will take place at Kenan Memorial Stadium again this year!
 
The fun takes place on Sunday in Holly Springs. The Old Fashioned Independence Day Celebration will feature children's entertainment, inflatables, festival food, kids crafts, potato sack races, a watermelon seed spitting contest, face painting and musical entertainment. The evening at Sugg Farm Park will culminate with fireworks!

Celebrate with Music and Movies

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences will host Science Trivia at this weeks Science Thursday.
 
The Sweet Carolina Music Series brings the Fantastic Shakers to the stage at Downtown Chapel Hill's University Mall Thursday evening.
 
Start your July 4th celebrations a couple days early with a free concert from Victoria Lee & New Ground with special guests Steve Howell & Caroline Mamoulides at this week's Pickin' in the Plazain Downtown Raleigh.
 
Mel Melton will be playing this week's Friday on the Front Porch of the Carolina Inn along with the food trucks Baguettaboutit and D"Burritos.
 
Durham Cinematheque presents Movies in the Park 2015 in Durham's Central Park Friday after dark. This Friday will feature Hollywood History and Musical Mixups.
 
Umstead Sate Park will be showing the films Amphibian and Bird on Saturday and Insect on Sunday.
 
The Monday Morning Movie at the Holly Springs Cultural Center will be Big Hero 6.
 

First Friday Festivities at the Parks and Museums 

Festival for the Eno will take place on Saturday, July 4th and Sunday the 5th. The Festival features over 65 performers on 4 stages, 85 craft artists, a home and garden expo, solar power and biodiesel demos, traditional and international food court, instrument museum, petting zoo, live animals, craft demonstrations, river activities and rentals, kids activities, storytellers, and puppets. Tickets are needed, so click through for all the info.
 
First Friday will bring the Gallery Walk to Downtown Raleigh along with the Morning Times Market at City Market with local artisans, live music, entertainment, and local breweries.
 
Head on over to Bass Lake Park for Family Fun Night. From 6-7pm make arts & crafts, meet a live animal, or borrow a fishing pole! Then from 7pm-8pm join Trish Miller for a kid friendly concert or a show by Dan the Magic Man on the deck overlooking Bass Lake.
 
Both the NC Museum of Sciences and NC Museum of History will opt out of First Friday this month, but both will be open on the 4th. They will celebrate First Friday at Marbles Kids Museum with extended Hours.
 

Fun at the Parks

Over the next week, there are lots of great activities like educational programs and guided hikes at our Triangle Parks. We will highlight a few of the family events on Facebook, but for the complete listing, go to the Events Search at ParkGeek.com and put in the dates and/or parks you are interested in and we will keep you up to date. Now that its summer vacation, many of the local parks are doing weekday programs also.
 
Historic Yates Mill Pond County Park invites you to take a variety of tours both Saturday and Sunday. The renovated Mill is a great destination if you have out of town guests. The park is wonderfully scenic and the interpretive history center is fascinating for all ages. On Sunday, you can join them for a Summer-time Stroll.
 
Its Free Fishing Day on Saturday, July 4th at Lake Crabtree County Park and Harris Lake County Park. In celebration of Independence Day, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has declared July 4 to be Free Fishing Day. From 12:01 a.m. until 11:59 p.m., everyone in North Carolina - resident and non-residents alike - can fish in any public body of water, including coastal waters, without a fishing license. You can also go Birding with Vernon early Satuday, July 4th.

 

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