July Fourth Celebrations To Span Weekend

Paulding County residents will have to wait one day to experience the first of two Independence Day celebrations put on by local governments.

Hiram will put on the first event Friday, July 5. The city’s fifth-annual fireworks celebration is returning to Ben Hill Strickland Sr. Memorial Park on Oak Street after officials last year did not hold a Fourth of July event due to budgetary decisions.

Officials are calling this year’s event “Red, White & Boom: City of Hiram Salutes the Stars & Stripes,” with the festivities beginning at 6 p.m. Admission is free and shuttles will aid in getting folks to the park to enjoy a concert by Contagious, described on the city’s website as “a seven-piece ‘performance dance/show band.’"

Food vendors that have been advertised include Bruster’s, Happy Hawg BBQ, the Olive Tree, On a Roll and Thirsty Parrot.

The event is scheduled to end at 10 p.m., but attendees will be treated to a fireworks show by East Coast Pyrotechnics before being sent on their way. 

For more information on Hiram’s “Red, White & Boom!” send an email to jpalmer@hiram-ga.gov or bbray@hiram-ga.gov.

Locals will get a second chance to see fireworks during another celebration—this one at Taylor Farm Park, which is being held the evening after Hiram’s event.

The July 6 happening is being called the “2013 IndepenDance at the Pole Barn,” according to the Paulding Neighbor, which reported that the once-annual event had been held for 10 years but had its funding cut off by county officials in 2010 due to budget concerns.

Vendors are being sought for the event, which will get under way at 5 p.m. A concert is scheduled for 7 p.m., with the fireworks slated for 9:30.

According to a report from Paulding County Today (the video report is attached to this article), organizers are expecting 8,000 to 10,000 to attend.