Annual Stars and Stripes Forever July 4th Celebration at Dublin Park will have a bit of everything fun
Celebration event will feature a LipSync Battle, cornhole tournament, live entertainment, exhibits, inflatables, games, soccer tournament and plenty of yummy food
OBB – Oswald Brothers Band – will rock the park during the celebration. CONTRIBUTED
MADISON – Madison will be the place to be this July 4. The annual Stars and Stripes Forever Celebration will be held at Dublin Park starting at 2 p.m. and continuing through a large fireworks display at 9 p.m.
This year’s festivities will include a little bit of everything: inflatables for the children, games and activities for the whole family, live entertainment, exhibits, demonstrations, a three-on-three soccer tournament, a cornhole tournament, a lipsync battle and, of course, plenty of great food choices.
Madison events coordinator Gayle Milam said the celebration will get underway at 2 p.m. with the opening of soccer field No. 1. “Children and adults of all ages can enjoy the inflatables, games, activities and even try to find their way through the 70-foot Obstacle Course,” Milam said. “When you get too hot, take a splash down the 62-foot water slide or sit underneath the giant tent in the shade.”
Live entertainment, exhibits from area businesses and services and demonstrations also start at 2 p.m. and will continue until 7 p.m.
Rocking the park will be Cruze and Oswald Brothers Band.
Zach, Jacob and Nich Oswald are OBB, the Atlanta-based pop trio. They have performed hundreds of shows to a combined audience of more than 3 million, and their song “Mona Lisa” was featured in a Google Chromebook National Ad Campaign and an episode of “Dude Perfect.”
The cornhole tournament will begin at 3 p.m. Milam said there is still time to register a team for the double elimination tournament, two people per team. There will be cash prizes for the first- through fourth-place finishers. For additional information, or to register a team, contact Milam at 256-772-2557 or gayle.milam@madisonal.gov.
Something new this year will be the LipSync Battle. “Can’t quite hit the notes, but you know all the words, and you have all the moves like a rock star? We want you,” Milam said about this zany event. Sponsored by 104.3 WZYP, Milam said the Lipsync Battle is a chance for people to be in the spotlight in front of thousands of people and give their best all-out “rock star” lip sync performance. Contestants will compete for great prizes, including concert tickets, gift certificates, movie passes and more.
To enter, post your best lip sync video, no more than one minute long, to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and tag it with #ZYPLipSyncBattle.
The deadline for submission is 5 p.m. July 1. Contestants will be notified of their chance to rock it out on stage.
Parking for the event will be at Bob Jones High School, with shuttle services provided by the City of Madison. Shuttle services will begin running at 1:45 p.m., with the last pickup at 8:45 p.m. Following the event, shuttles will take people back to Bob Jones High School.
Handicap parking only will be allowed at Dublin Park.
The grand finale of the event will be the fireworks display at 9 p.m.
The Madison City Council recently approved a request by Madison Parks and Recreation Director Kory Alfred to use Pyro Shows Inc. for this year’s show. Alfred said this is a change from the company they have used in the past. “This is the same company that was used for the Rocket City Trash Pandas logo reveal party. We will end up getting bigger shells through this company, which means more bang for the buck. It will be a bigger show this year.”
“It promises to be a great day and an amazing fireworks show,” Milam added. “It’s a tremendous opportunity to bring the whole family and have fun celebrating our country’s birth.”
