BLEDSOE
* Pikeville: Pikeville Church of God will start Bledsoe County's daylong party at 10 a.m. CDT Saturday with concession sales and gospel music. In addition to a 45-minute, church-sponsored fireworks show at 9 p.m., members of the youth group will sell fireworks throughout the day to raise funds for youth camps and trips, according to Pastor Mitchell Wilson.
Concessions will include barbecue and homemade ice cream. There will be a nominal fee for concessions.
"Last year we cooked and gave it away," Wilson said. "There's some years we can afford to do that. It's a little bit more difficult when you're trying to pay for a building."
Scheduled for completion later this year, the church's new facility is at 13234 Main St. (Highway 127), just inside the city limits near Hubbard Farms. Visitors are welcome to park on the church's 18-acre property, and Wilson said many folks line the highway to see the fireworks display.
"Pikeville has a population of about 1,500," he said. "I think last year we had close to 3,000 people (watching fireworks). They come from all up and down the valley."
BRADLEY
* Cleveland: Bradley County's 10th annual Freedom Celebration, featuring music, prayer and pledges, begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Cleveland High School, 850 Raider Drive NW. The program is free.
CUMBERLAND
* Crossville: Cumberland County residents can delight in the Independence Day children's parade, which begins at Palace Theater, 72 S. Main St., and ends at the Crossville Depot. The parade begins at 10 a.m. CDT. A fireworks festival will take place at nightfall in Centennial Park.
FRANKLIN
Franklin County residents have plenty to choose from this weekend for July 4 fun.
* Huntland: In Huntland, the free annual two-day Fourth of July festival kicks off today at 1 p.m. CDT with an opening ceremony. Rave Gymnastics will perform at 1:10 p.m. Other events today include a performance by Inside Out from 2 to 5 and a Corvette car show from 5 to 6:30. A concert by Radio Active will close out the evening starting at 7.
Saturday, the celebration continues with a parade at 10 a.m. at the high school. Four bands will play on a stage at Huntland Park from 1 to 11 p.m., with a fireworks display closing out the festivities.
There will also be a free kid zone open at noon each day with a bounce house and water slide.
* Sewanee: Sewanee residents will also have plenty to occupy them with An Old-Fashioned Fourth, the city's free, annual, two-day celebration taking place throughout the city starting tonight at 7 with the Sewanee Summer Music Festival's student chamber music concert. A street dance with the Southern Haulers will keep things going until midnight.
A flag raising will start things off Saturday. Events will be held throughout the day, including an arts and crafts fair, cat fashion show, cake decorating contest and an air show. A parade will start at 2 p.m. from Sewanee Hospital. A fireworks blowout at dark will seal the deal.
* Winchester: The Circle E Guest Ranch and Campground outside Winchester are hosting a dance party tonight at 8 featuring Utopia. The event will include camping and trail riding (bring your own horse), vendors selling barbecue and a BYOB option. Admission is $7. For more information, call 931-962-1790 or visit www.circleeguestranch.com.
GRUNDY
* Monteagle: Parades will decorate the streets of Grundy County, and fireworks will light the night sky. From the right vantage point, you may see simultaneous fireworks as they're set off from the Monteagle ballpark east of town as well as the ballpark behind Monteagle Assembly, both beginning at dusk on Saturday evening.
"We always have quite a big show," said Maxine Wade, Monteagle Chamber of Commerce executive director.
Earlier in the day, though, the town's finest come out in celebration of Independence Day. Parades begin at 10 a.m. CDT starting at The Smokehouse in Monteagle.
* Tracy City: Tracy City's July 4th parade begins at 6 p.m. CDT near Tag Plastics and snakes its way through downtown.
MARION
* Jasper: The Jasper Regional History Museum will have an Old-Fashioned 4th of July Celebration from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CDT Saturday, preceding the city's fireworks display at city park at dark.
Daytime events include two Civil War re-enactment skirmishes at the Marion County Fairgrounds field at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. A Civil War suttlers camp also will be set up for visitors to see.
On display in the museum yard will be Civil War-era tools and artifacts, as well as antique tractors and other farm implements. At 3 p.m., prizes will be give to the top three cars in an Antique Auto Show. Local musicians will perform throughout the day.
Inside the museum, visitors can learn the history of the Civil War in the Sequatchie Valley. Author Billyfrank Morrison will autograph books in his Postcard History Series, featuring the latest, "Marion County in Vintage Postcards."
Picnic concessions will be available for sale. Admission is free, though donations to the museum are appreciated.
The museum is at 715 Phillips Ave. across from the tennis courts at the Jasper walking track next to Marion County High School. Lawn chairs are recommended for seating.
For more information, call M.K. Flood at 423-942-1800 or J. Jennings at 942-9500.
* South Pittsburg:
The Atlanta Rhythm Section will headline South Pittsburg's Fourth of July Festival at the River Park (boat dock).
Others in the lineup are the Sammi Moore Band, Tim McGraw tribute artist Buck McCoy and Haletown comedian Cousin Ricky Peardon. Entertainment starts just after noon Saturday with two shows by each of the featured performers.
As is tradition, the South Pittsburg Lions Club will gave away a 2009 Ford Ranger XL provided by Moss Motor Co. Club members are selling 425 chances on the truck at $50 each. A reverse drawing starts at 1 p.m. The last name drawn wins, and each 13th name drawn gets a consolation prize.
SCHEDULE
12:15 p.m. Sammi Moore Band
1:15 p.m. Buck McCoy
2:15 p.m. Sammi Moore Band
3 p.m. Karaoke
4 p.m. Cousin Ricky Peardon
4:30 p.m. Atlanta Rhythm Section
5:30 p.m. Buck McCoy
6:15 p.m. Jerry Blevins
7 p.m. Cousin Ricky Peardon
7:30 p.m. Atlanta Rhythm Section
9 p.m. Fireworks
MCMINN
* Athens: The city of Athens will present its annual July 4 fireworks display at 9:30 p.m. Saturday at Athens Regional Park. This is one of the largest fireworks displays in East Tennessee and is produced by Pyro Shows of Lafollette, Tenn. Games and other activities on the park grounds will begin at 6 p.m.
Austin Fesmire, director of Parks and Recreation, called the event, co-sponsored by Comcast, "an intense 20 minutes of some of the best fireworks from around the world."
While the Athens show is all about fireworks there will be several activities inside the park beforehand. The Shoney's pie-eating contest, giant plinko, target golf, washer pitching and other games will be held on the concession stand plaza. New for 2009 is the addition of a mechanical bull.
"We had the opportunity to have the mechanical bull at the park on July 4, and we jumped at the chance," said Fesmire. "Riding the mechanical bull is one of those things that should be on everyone's list of things to do in their lifetime, especially all of the old John Travolta, 'Urban Cowboy' fans who thought it looked easy in the movie. From personal experience I can assure you that it is a lot of fun and something you can brag about on the 5th," he said.
The Athens fireworks will be shot from the eastern hillside at the Athens Regional Park.
The hiking trail on the eastern side of the park will be closed all day Saturday due to fireworks regulations. "We will spend the better part of two days building racks and laying ignition wire to prepare for this show. It is imperative that people respect the areas that have been closed for safety purposes," said Fesmire.
After the fireworks, Highway 30 at the entrance to the Athens Regional Park will be tapered to one lane by the Athens Police Department to allow cars in the park to exit. Traffic will be routed east only onto Highway 30.
* Etowah: Etowah will hold an old-fashioned Julty 4th Celebration Spectacular beginning with a Boy Scout Pancake Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. That will be followed by a road race, patriotic program, beauty pageant, square dancing and live music. Performing will be Amber Murphy, Tim Jamerson/The Schofields, Michael Viscuso & Sons, Kelly Dennis, Gillie Roberts and the community choir.
The Etowah Town Band will perform patriotic music at 6:30 p.m., and Strictly Business will play at 8 p.m. A fireworks show is at 9:45, with live music to continue at 10 p.m.
MEIGS
* Decatur, Fireworks will be shot on the Meigs County High School football field just after dark.
* Ten Mile: Mister Twister restaurant, 2593 State Highway 304, will host a celebration Saturday featuring live music, giveaways and fireworks at dark. Performing will be Reno and Conviction beiginning at 5 p.m.
MONROE
Sweetwater: Monroe County will begin its July 4 festivities early in the day with Sweetwater's annual 4th of July parade at 10 a.m. Saturday. The parade will end at the gazebo downtown. Lineup begins at 9 a.m. in the Plaza 68 parking lot.
* Tellico Plains: Fireworks and a street party will follow later that evening in downtown Tellico Plains. The street party begins at 5 p.m. at the Town Square.
POLK
* Ducktown: Two days of activities are planned in Ducktown for the 2009 Miners Homecoming. Today from 4 to 7 p.m., The Hoist House will have music by the Barker Brothers and hamburgers and hot dogs. From 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., the Main Street Live Gospel Music Show will feature Mandy Dixon, The Kaylor Family, Back to Bethany and Copper City Quartet.
Saturday's lineup starts with a pancake breakfast at the Hoist House and continues with a full day of parades, soup bean dinner, kids alley games, rubber duck race, homecoming pageant, classic car cruise-in and a gospel music show featuring Mine City Baptist Choir and Youth Drama Team and the Coletown Baptist Choir starting at 4 p.m. The Raven Welch Band will perform bluesgrass music at 6 p.m. and the C.C. Morgan Band will add some rock 'n' roll to the day at 8 p.m. Fireworks will end the day at 10 p.m.
* Copperhill: In Copperhill, the Independence weekend fireworks display will take place tonight at 9:30. Fireworks will be fired from Tater Hill in McCaysville, Ga. The event is sponsored by the Tri-Cities Business Association and Glenn Springs Holdings. Call 877-790-2157 for more information.
RHEA
Graysville: Tennessee Championship Wrestling will be part of Graysville's July 4th Bash at the ballpark on Black Track Road. Fights start at 6 p.m. and include a bullrope match for the TCW heavyweight championship and the CWF heavyweight title match between former National Wrestling Alliance heavyweight champion Tommy "Wildfire" Rich vs. Championship Wrestling Federation Casey Kage with Jay West.
Before the bouts, festivalgoers can help their favorite wrestlers cool off in the dunk tank (three balls for $1) and get autographs from Wildfire Rich. Those events start at 4 and 5 p.m., respectively.
Tickets are $7 adults, $5 children 5-12. Bring a chair and get $1 off the ticket price.
Following the wrestling show, the Graysville Fire Department will provide a pyrotechnics display.
THE CARD
TCW heavyweight championship match: Keith Hart vs. Robbie Lee Jordan
Rhea County Street Fight: Justin Richards vs. Kayden Christopher
CWF heavyweight title match: Tommy "Wildfire" Rich vs. CWF heavyweight champion Casey Kage with Jay West
TCW/CWF tag team title unification match: The Wild Boyz (Ben Thrasher and Jason Hampton) vs. Mirror Image (K.T. Hamill and Brian Rivers)
Also appearing: Shawn Fire, Tyler Sutton, Quintin Bradley, Big Wood and Nightmare
* Spring City: Big, booming fireworks give Spring City its Independence Day celebration, Shake the Lake, at Veterans Park.
Preceding that nighttime ritual are activities for all ages. "The babies can race in the diaper derby, the kids can get their faces painted, and mom and dad can compete in the pickle or watermelon eating contests," according to a news release.
Attendees can enjoy live music as well as craft and food vendors during the day. Little Mr. and Miss Firecracker pageants will crown winners.
For more information, call 423-762-8916.
SEQUATCHIE
Dunlap: July Fourth is a day for celebration in Sequatchie County. Starting at 10 a.m. CDT, a huge parage will make its way from the old middle school on Heart Street through downtown to the courthouse, where vendors will be set up with food and volunteers will have games for the kids.
It's a lot of old-fashioned fun, said Lorene Williams, executive assistant at the Sequatchie County-Dunlap Chamber of Commerce.
At dusk, fireworks will shoot high into the sky from the ridge surrounding Dunlap. "Park anywhere in town, and you can see them," Williams said. It's a communitywide party with people coming home for the holidays and visitors coming just to see what it's all about, she said.
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