Greensboros Fun 4th

Fun Fourth Festival 2010

Celebrate our nation’s birthday during Greensboro’s hugely popular Fun Fourth Festival.

The festival attracts about 100,000 people and has been recognized as a “Top 20 Event” by the Southeast Tourism Society.

This year, the festival kicks off with a Fun Fourth Block Party on Friday, July 2 with The Extraordinaires and Nantucket from 7:00 - 11:00 p.m. The party will be held in the park across from the Greensboro Historical Museum at the intersection of Lindsay, Summit and Church streets. This is a fun evening of classic beach and rock music, cold beverages and great food. Bring your lawn chairs and friends (but not coolers or pets, please)!  Admission is $10 per person.

A big draw is the Independence Day Parade, which winds through downtown Greensboro Saturday, July 3 beginning at 9:30 a.m. Uncle Sam and the Guilford Courthouse Fife & Drum Corps will lead floats, clowns, beauty queens, community groups, dance troupes, military personnel and more from North Greene onto Market Street and Church Street and ends at the Greensboro Children’s Museum.

At 10:00 a.m., the Fun Fourth Street Festival opens with arts, crafts, festival foods, children's activities, souvenirs, contests, amusement rides and more. New for 2010 is the Vintage Village, featuring for sale vintage clothing, jewelry and house wares from variety of eras.  The festival boasts five stages of live music, everything from gospel to rock-and-roll.

Other highlights include the Freedom Run & Walk the weekend before on June 26 and the Tony-award winning musical “1776” at the historic Carolina Theatre July 1 – 4.

The grand finale of the weekend is the Pops Concert & Fireworks Spectacular on Sunday, July 4 at Jamieson Stadium at Grimsley High School from 7:30-10:00 p.m. At 9:20 p.m., Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture will precede a patriotic medley with the first sizzle, bang and boom at 9:30 p.m.

 The stadium seats 5,000 people in the stands. There is no admission or parking fee. Coolers, picnics and pets are not permitted inside the gate; snack vendors will be on site. In the event of pending inclement weather, festival organizers will notify the public and media via Twitter and Facebook about cancellations or delays, @GrassrootsGSO or facebook.com/GrassrootsGSO. Rain date is July 5.

For the comfort and safety of all festival-goers, please do not bring pets, coolers or glass containers of any kind to any event. Bicycles, skates or skateboards are also not allowed at any Fun Fourth events.

The Fun Fourth Festival has been presented annually since 1975. It’s a community celebration of Independence Day for Guilford County and the Piedmont Triad. It maintains all the favorite American Independence Day traditions and offers great entertainment and free exhibits.

The Fun Fourth Festival is produced by Grassroots Productions Limited. This local non-profit organization focuses on charitable and educational activities which foster interest in local history and events in Guilford County. An advisory board of local business and civic leaders oversees the planning of each event. 

For more information and complete details, visit www.FunFourthFestival.org.