It’s the event local residents, and people from all over the nation, anticipate each summer: Independence Day.

Parades, food, fun and fireworks will mark the annual celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and as always Peachtree City plans to celebrate in a big way.

This year’s parade will be held on Wednesday, July 4, beginning at 9 a.m. The parade will begin on Peachtree Parkway near the Braelinn Golf Course and will proceed north on Peachtree Parkway, crossing over Crosstown Road. The parade route will then make a left hand turn onto McIntosh Trail and will disperse at Huddleston Elementary School and McIntosh Trail Recreation Complex.

The start of the parade will be marked by two large, mylar, American flag balloons at Village on the Green subdivision, said Ashley Alonso, leisure program coordinator for the Peachtree City Parks and Recreation Department and coordinator of the parade.

This year’s parade is scheduled to have 167 entries, 85 of which will be floats and the remaining will be golf carts, cars and trucks. Some of the float sponsors for this year’s parade are the Peachtree City Rotary, Delta, Touch the World, J93.3 radio station, Chick-fil-A and many local churches.

As in years past, spectators can expect to collect a variety of items from passing floats and golf carts including beach balls, T-shirts, beads and candy.

“It would be wise for people to bring a bag to collect stuff in,” said Alonso. She also said she expects the parade to last not more than two hours.

The VFW Post 9949, along with American Legion Post 105, are expected to march in the parade handing out 4,000 American flags along the route.

This year’s parade Grand Marshal is Army veteran Lowell D. Chambers. While serving in the Army, Chambers was the recipient of a Purple Heart with two clusters, the Good Conduct Medal, the Bronze Star and the Medal for European Theater of Operations (ETO). He was shot in combat during the Battle of the Bulge, and became a POW in Germany for five months.

September 21, 2006 Chambers received the French Legion of Honor medal from the Consul General of France, Philippe Ardanaz. This award was created by Napoleon in 1802 to acknowledge services rendered to France by persons of great merit.

Today Chambers is an 85 year old war veteran with five children and 31 grandchildren and resides in Palmetto, Ga.

Other activities scheduled for the day include the annual Fire Department Expo, a concert and food vendors and, of course, the annual fireworks display.

The Fire Department Expo, which will be held at 3:30 p.m. at Drake Field, will feature a demo of an automobile extrication, a static display of a fire engine, an aerial truck and an ambulance.

The concert at the City Hall Plaza will begin at 7 p.m. and will feature a performance by the Cedar Hill Band, which will last until the start of the fireworks.

Food vendors will be out and about at both the City Hall Plaza as well as Picnic Park from 4 p.m. until the end of the fireworks. Picnic Park vendors will have barbecue, hot dogs, nachos, candy, mini-donuts and novelty items on hand. City Hall Plaza vendors will have hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy and ice cream.

The highly anticipated fireworks display will begin at dusk, at approximately 9 p.m.

Those planning to view the fireworks from Lake Peachtree are discouraged from setting up blankets and chairs early on the day of the event.

For more information, contact the Peachtree City Recreation Department at 770-631-2542 or visit the website at www.ptcrecreation.org.

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