Independence Day celebrations and fireworks displays are scheduled all around Jefferson County and in Eureka this year, after most were canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to Eureka, the celebrations will be held in Cedar Hill, Arnold, Crystal City, Hillsboro, Festus and De Soto.
First up will be the Twin City Firecracker Festival, set for Friday and Saturday, June 25-26, followed by the Arnold Independence Day celebration on June 26.
St. Pius X High School will be next up, with an event on Thursday, July 1, followed by Big River VFW’s celebration on Saturday, July 3.
The rest will be on Sunday, July 4, including at the First Baptist Church of Arnold, the Meramec Arnold Elks, the Hillsboro Community Civic Club, De Soto High School and the Lions and Legions Park.
Festus
The 32nd annual Twin City Firecracker Festival is back after being canceled last year due to the pandemic.
The festival will be on Friday, June 25, and Saturday, June 26, at the Larry G. Crites Memorial Park (formerly West City Park) in Festus and will feature food and craft vendors, a car show, live music and fireworks.
Barb Lowry, recreation and tourism director for the city of Festus, said organizers are eager to see the event return.
Activities will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. on Saturday, and each evening will end with a fireworks display starting at 10 p.m.
The fireworks will last approximately 15-20 minutes on Friday night, and they will run a little longer on Saturday, Lowry said.
J&M Displays is putting on the show, which will cost almost $14,000, Lowry said.
Both days will feature food and craft vendors, as well as a petting zoo, Lowry said.
Tinsley Amusements will provide carnival rides and games on both days. Ride tickets will cost $1.25 each or 22 tickets for $20. Most rides require two or three tickets, Lowry said.
A fishing derby for children 2-14 years old and senior fishing derby for those 55 and older will be held on Saturday morning at Al Brown Lake in the park. There is no registration fee, but those registered by June 25 are eligible for door prizes, Lowry said. There is a limit of three fish per participant, and only live bait may be used, although minnows are not allowed.
The children’s derby will be from 8-10 a.m., and the senior event will be from 10 a.m. to noon.
All participating children and seniors will receive a free hot dog and soda.
A classic car show will be held at the Old Fairgrounds Field on the southern end of the park on Saturday. Registration begins at 9 a.m. and trophies will be awarded at 1 p.m.
It will cost $15 to enter a car in the show for judging, and $10 to just display it.
A washers tournament, hosted by the Andy Habsieger Foundation will be held Saturday, with registration at 10 a.m., and play beginning at 11 a.m.
That ’80s Band will perform from 6-10 p.m. Friday.
The Johnathan Braddy Band, a country music band from Crystal City, will perform from 6-8 p.m., and the Kentucky Headhunters, a classic Southern rock band, will take the stage at 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
There is no charge for the live music performances.
A shuttle will run from approximately 5-11 p.m. Saturday from Festus High School to the festival, Lowry said. No shuttle will run on Friday.
All visitors to the festival are asked to keep their dogs or other pets at home, with the exception of service animals, Lowry said.
“If you come with your pet, we’re going to tell you to take it home and please come back,” she said. “We’ve seen too many dogs break away because they get scared with the fireworks.”
Other prohibited items include coolers, backpacks, bottles and cans, Lowry said.
For information, visit cityoffestus.org.
De Soto
In De Soto, Fourth of July will be celebrated with a fireworks display, children’s activities, a parade and more.
The fireworks, sponsored by the
De Soto Lions, will start around 9:15 p.m. Sunday, July 4, at De Soto High School, 815 Amvets Drive.
It’s free to view the fireworks.
A bounce house and tractor-train rides for children will be offered for small fees. Concessions will be available for purchase.
Festivities begin at 4 p.m. with a parade along Main Street. The De Soto Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the city of De Soto, will sponsor the parade.
The celebration continues at 7 p.m. with recognition of veterans at the high school.
Larry Bridges, president of the De Soto Lions, said that organization has only sponsored the fireworks display for the last few years, but De Soto has held a community fireworks display in honor of Independence Day for about 77 years.
Bridges said area businesses make contributions to help cover the cost of the fireworks display. “It wouldn’t be possible to put on this event without donations,” he said.
Hillsboro
The Hillsboro Community Civic Club will celebrate Independence Day on Sunday, July 4, at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, 10349 Business 21.
Gates will open at 6 p.m. Admission is free. Fireworks will begin at dusk.
Other festivities include pony rides and face painting. Concessions will be available for purchase.
Attendees may bring coolers and lawn chairs, but no pets.
St. Pius
The St. Pius Fireworks Extravaganza will be held Thursday, July 1, at St. Pius X High School, 1030 St. Pius Drive, in Crystal City.
Gates open at 6:30 p.m., and the fireworks show will start around 9:15 p.m.
The cost is $20 per vehicle load.
“A parking crew will direct attendees to appropriate parking locations,” St. Pius President Jim Lehn said. “Please have the exact amount of cash available.”
He said checks will be accepted, but not credit card payments.
“Please have checks filled out beforehand to St. Pius X High School,” Lehn added.
The Exit 180 band will perform at the event. Concessions will be available for purchase.
Attendees are urged to bring lawn chairs and blankets.
Arnold
The city of Arnold plans to hold new contests and a parade at its Independence Day Celebration, the first one since 2018.
The event is scheduled from 5-11 p.m. Saturday, June 26, at Arnold City Park on Bradley Beach Road off Jeffco Boulevard near the Meramec River.
Both admission and parking are free.
Arnold city officials canceled the event in 2019 because of flooding, and it wasn’t held last year because of COVID-19.
“We are excited to get back to what we do the best, and that is events,” Arnold Parks and Recreation supervisor Teresa Kohut said. “We can’t wait to put this on for our community. (Parks and Recreation deputy director) Dave Crutchley has inspired all of us to put our best foot forward, and we are working very hard on it. We are going to put on a heck of a show.”
A fireworks display is scheduled to begin about 9 p.m. The celebration also will include food vendors, and the Wildfire band is set to perform from 7-11 p.m.
The parks department has added four contests to the festivities, including a hot dog-eating contest for adults and cupcake-eating contest for children, which were a hit at the 2019 Arnold Days celebration. Arnold Days was canceled last year because of the pandemic.
For the hot dog-eating contest, scheduled for 6:15 p.m., contestants will try to eat the most in five minutes. For the cupcake-eating contest, set for 6:30 p.m., children will try to eat a cupcake without using their hands, and whoever finishes the quickest will win.
The winner of the hot dog-eating contest will receive a $100 Visa gift card, and the winner of the cupcake eating contest will receive a $50 Walmart gift card.
A three-legged race and a balloon toss competition will be held at about 6:40 p.m. The winners of these competitions will receive four guest passes to the Arnold Recreation Center’s indoor and outdoor pools.
Those wanting to take part in any of the contests may register during the festival at the event stage, which will be near the lake.
People may register to take part in a parade, which is scheduled to start at 6:50 p.m. and will wind through the event grounds.
“We encourage participants to wear Fourth of July attire, and they can decorate bicycles and wagons to ride in the parade,” Kohut said. “There also will be a mini-train for kids to ride in the parade, but seats are limited.”
The event also will feature the Bubble Bus and balloon artists from 5-7 p.m.
Kohut said previous Independence Day festivals have attracted up to 7,000 people.
She said while parking near the event grounds can be hard to find, plenty of parking spots are available inside the park.
First Baptist Church of Arnold
First Baptist Church of Arnold will put on a free fireworks show Sunday, July 4, on the church grounds, 2012 Missouri State Road.
Parking lots will open at 8:45 p.m., and the fireworks display is scheduled for 9:30 p.m.
Admission is free.
“This will be our biggest fireworks show ever,” said Jason Ervin, the congregation’s pastor of the next generation.
He said music will be played over loudspeakers to coincide with the fireworks. The music will also be broadcast over KGNA 89.9 FM radio.
“You can hear it over our PA system or on the radio in your car,” he said.
Meramec Arnold Elks
The Meramec Arnold Elks also will hold a celebration on Sunday, July 4, at the lodge, 1515 Miller Road, in Imperial.
No admission fee will be charged.
Fireworks will begin at dusk.
Barbecue will be sold starting at 3 p.m., but pork steak plates will not be available for purchase until 4 p.m.
A DJ will play music beginning at 4:30 p.m.
Coolers will not be allowed on the grounds.
Big River VFW
The Big River VFW will hold its annual Independence Day celebration on Saturday, July 3, at the post, 1 Lynn Lane, in Cedar Hill.
Festivities will begin at 11 a.m.
Admission is free.
In addition to fireworks, which will begin at dusk, barbecue, drinks, snow cones, cotton candy and funnel cakes will be available for purchase.
Outside containers will not be allowed on the grounds.
Eureka
Eureka’s Fourth of July celebration will be more subdued this year, but it should still pack a bang.
City officials decided to only stage a fireworks show this year, cutting back on festivities leading up to the evening’s main event.
“July Fourth is going to be a little different this year,” recreation coordinator Lizzie Roberds said. “Normally, we have a big event with the Eureka Police Support Fund selling hot dogs, the kids’ corner and the band. This year we are actually doing it a little differently, a little more low-key.
“With COVID still being around, we did want to play it safe.”
The fireworks display will start about 9:30 p.m. Sunday, July 4. The main viewing areas will be in Legion and Lions parks off Bald Hill Road.
The road between the parks will close about 8 p.m. the night of the display, allowing people to set up lawn chairs.
The city will pay J & M Displays $20,000 to provide the show, Roberds said.
“Normally, we would have done what's called a pyromusical and had music playing from the bandstand,” Roberds said. “Because we're not doing a band this year, it's just going to be a fireworks show.”
She said the fireworks will launch from Drewel Park, which is off Hill Drive in the Shaw’s Garden subdivision.
Roberds said parking closest to the viewing areas outside the parks will be at Geggie Elementary, 430 Bald Hill Road, or West Frisco Park, 14 W. Frisco Ave.
“But you can really see the show from lots of places around town,” she said.
Roberds said fewer people have attended the larger Independence Day celebration lately.
“Fourth of July is one of those events that we throw a lot of money and manpower towards, and it has become less and less attended over the years, especially earlier in the evening before the fireworks. People come out for the fireworks.”