The Sixth Annual Fireworks Celebration, held by the Albany/Clinton County Chamber of Commerce is set this year for Tuesday, July 3, 2012 at the fairgrounds around 9 p.m.

Unlike other years in the past, this year will be held the day before Independence Day, due to the holiday falling in the middle of the work week, which this year is on Wednesday.

Newly elected Chamber President, J.W. Collins, said he expects a large crowd again this year.

“We are going to have music from six until nine p.m.,” Collins said. “The goal is to provide a good atmosphere, and a good, safe place for the community to come to view fireworks.”

As in the past, people from all around come into Albany on the Fourth of July to view the fireworks show. The show can be visible from many areas, but it is recommended to come to the fairgrounds to get the best view available.

“The purpose of the fireworks is two-fold. One, to give vacationers who are on the lake in our area a place to go view fireworks during the holiday season and that drives tourism,” Collins said. “Two, the fireworks are sponsored by a lot of the local businesses who feel like giving back to the local patrons and to the community for doing business at their locations.”

Not only does the chamber want to impress the local community, it also wants tourists visiting the area to have a good time and celebrate Independence Day together with the local crowd.

“Who goes to the lake and doesn’t want to go on Fourth of July weekend … no one hardly,” Collins said. “This is a good opportunity for us to have a fireworks show and get those folks to come off the lakes and into our town and view the fireworks and shop, get gas, and they may find out they like Clinton County and Albany.”

The Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to the development of business in the community and is also responsible for promoting Clinton County to attract tourists and potential employers in order to boost the economy.

“It’s going to be comparable to what we’ve done before,” Collins said. “The main reason we are doing it on the third is because Wednesday is a church night. The singers who will be at the fairgrounds before the fireworks show are mainly gospel singers so, many of those people will go to church on Wednesday night.”

Performing Tuesday night will be “Joyful Hearts” and the “Vance Brown Family.”

“Those are two local groups, so they should put on a good musical selection for the crowd,” he said.

During nearly it’s entire six-year reign, the fireworks show has become an event to look forward to every year. Collins said he hopes to expand the event during the next few years in order to make Independence Day an all-day celebration.

“We are going to try and expand on the event next year” Collins said. “It all has to do with participation.”

As always, the event is free of charge to anyone who wants to view the fireworks and listen to the music at the fairgrounds. Concessions will also be available for purchase.

“It’s good clean fun. It’s safe, cheap … it’s an inexpensive way for the people of our county to view fireworks,” Collins said. “With gas prices high, you sure don’t want to drive somewhere else … you don’t need to.”

The Albany Fire Department has been on standby every year the fireworks show has been held and will be on hand Tuesday night this year. The show usually begins with a raising of the American Flag by the Albany Fire Department in order to salute freedom.

This year’s sponsors for the event include: Mayor Nicky Smith and Albany City Council, Albany/Clinton County Chamber of Commerce, Clinton County Industrial Authority, Barrett Oil, Monticello Banking Company, First & Farmers National Bank, Albany Volunteer Fire Department, Keystone Foods, LLC, Albany Building Center, Daymar College, Quick Mart Shell and the Clinton County Fair.