The second of three big holidays is here again, and in celebration of our nation’s 239th birthday, several events will be taking place all around Clinton County and surrounding areas now through Saturday, marking Independence Day on July 4th.

One of the major events that has now become an annual celebration will be the 4th of July Celebration and fireworks show, hosted for the third year in a row at Mountain View Park.

Since the event began being held at the park, spectators have not only filled the park, especially after dark, but have lined up on the bypass that lies west and behind the park to watch the always huge fireworks show that has gained popularity among local and area citizens.

Again, the actual “celebration” will begin about six hours earlier than the fireworks display itself, as there will be several activities taking place at the park starting around 3 p.m. Some of the events will be returning programs, with a couple of new events for young and not-so-young alike.

This year’s Fourth of July Celebration has a new partner to help put on the all-day event with the Albany/Clinton County Chamber of Commerce and the Mountain View Park Board. The Healthy Hometown Coalition has jumped into the fire and is now a full partner in the event.

Healthy Hometown Coalition Coordinator April Speck said she expects an even larger crowd this year than in year’s past.

“The first thing we will be doing is the inflatables and the rock wall, and with just a $5 arm band purchase, kids will have unlimited access to all of that,” Speck said. “We are also having a Hot Spot Basketball competition.”

Speck said she expects a large crowd for the basketball competition. She said she has already sent out a lot of applications to people out of town and with it being the first time for the event, a large crowd is expected.

Also during the day, a healthy grilling demonstration will take place at 5:30.

One reason the Healthy Hometown Coalition is getting involved is to get the kids outside and promote more physical activity among the youth in the county.

“It’s top priority, we are trying to get as many kids out as we can,” Speck said. “That’s why we only made the basketball competition $2. We are not trying to make money. We just need enough to cover the cost of the trophies.”

The Hot Shot Basketball Competition will have six different categories and will range in age from six and under to 30 and up.

There is truly something for everyone this year at the Fourth of July Celebration.

If basketball isn’t your thing, there will be a car show held at the park from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Last year’s event saw the parking lot at Mountain View Park full of classic and new showroom quality vehicles for viewing pleasure.

For the children, there will be fun from start to finish, as the inflatables will again be set up along with a rock wall for climbers and a water slide. Armbands, for $5 each, allows each child to use the inflatables the entire afternoon and evening, up until 8 p.m. And, when the inflatables aren’t in use by the youngsters, they now have the new playground equipment to enjoy as well.

Last year’s inflatables at the park were a huge success and this year the event has acquired sponsorship in order to fund the inflatables at the park.

Speck said Lay-Simpson Furniture, Healthy Hometown and Junction Station have sponsored the inflatables this year.

At 6 p.m., the more traditional 4th of July Celebration will take place with events that have been in the schedule for the past nine years. The Gospel Singing will be around 6 p.m. with the Alumni Band to follow around 8 p.m.

The Alumni Band will precede the fireworks display, which is scheduled to begin around 9 p.m.

The National Anthem and raising of the American flag will precede the fireworks, with Kelly Sawyer Latham scheduled to give the rendition of America’s anthem this year.

According to Speck, Shannan Caudell will be putting on the fireworks display. The Albany/Clinton County Chamber of Commerce obtained the fireworks this year and decided to go a different route with the pyrotechnics, but the show should last around 20-30 minutes.

On Saturday, from 3 p.m. until after nine p.m., there will be something for everyone and when the event was first planned nine years ago, it was the dream of the Chamber of Commerce to expand on the event every year. Now, it has grown in the direction the chamber of commerce has wanted it to.

During the nine years the chamber has been putting on the fireworks display, only one year was postponed due to dry conditions. That year the fireworks was moved and displayed during the Foothills Festival. Now, in addition to the 4th of July Celebration, fireworks have integrated into the schedule of the Foothills Festival.

The Healthy Hometown Coalition, according to Speck, hasn’t been on 4th of July Celebration committee for very long, but Speck said there is already talk about next year’s event and what events can be added to the celebration.

“Next year we would like to make it bigger and have more activities for the kids,” Speck said. “We thought about doing several different smaller events in order to draw in as many people as we can.”

If there isn’t any room at Mountain View Park, spectators also have the option to view the fireworks from the Clinton County Middle School Parking lot.

An event like the 4th of July Celebration takes more than one person to put it on.

Speck said there are several volunteers who wanted to help this year and most of them are youth.

“The Elite Cheerleading group is one of the groups helping us,” Speck said. “We have groups set up from 3-5 and 5-7 and then 7-8:30. We would like to have 10 people each shift so 30 people total to help with the event.”

The Chamber of Commerce Fireworks will be free to those who show up at the park, however, the park will be accepting donations in order to resurface the walking track. Last year, proceeds went toward buying new playground equipment and as of recently, the new equipment is installed and fully operational.

“The walking track is a half-mile now and I think they are looking to expand it to a mile,” Speck said.

The Park Board will also have it’s concession stand open throughout the day and will be serving food and drinks to those who venture to the park. Also Hog Wild BBQ will have a booth set up at the park.

This year’s event is sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, Recreation Park Board, City of Albany, People’s Bank, First and Farmer’s Bank, Monticello Bank and the Clinton County Industrial Development Authority.

Make plans to attend this year’s fireworks and park activities this Saturday.