Your Guide to Fireworks, Parades, Hot Dog Contests, Duck Races, Petting Zoos, Fun Runs and Other Fourth of July Festivities Throughout the Southland

EVERGREEN PARK

The 43rd annual Independence Day Parade will be held Friday, July 1, at 6:30 p.m. starting at 95th Street and Pulaski Road to 95th and Richmond Avenue. Fireworks start at dusk at Duffy Park, 92nd Street and Ridgeway Avenue. If it rains on Friday, fireworks will be held on Sunday, July 3.

The sixth annual 4th of July Parade at 10 a.m. from 51st Avenue and 95th Street to 55th Court and 95th Street kicks off the day’s events in Oak Lawn. The parade consists of more than 100 entries which include military color guards to mascots including South Paw (White Sox), Skates (Wolves) and Benny the Bull (Bulls), antique cars, dignitaries, parade units and marchers of all ages.

After the parade, the Oak Lawn Firefighters Local 3405 will hold its inaugural duck races at Lake Shore Park, 9610 East Shore Drive.

Ducks will travel down the creek into the lake and prizes will be given to the first 10 ducks that cross the finish line! Ducks are just $10 each.  Your duck ticket can be purchased at any firehouse in Oak Lawn, the Children's Museum in Oak Lawn, or by calling Bob Lanz at (708) 269-7144.

The Oak Lawn Park District’s annual Star Spangled 4th of July Celebration will be held at Centennial Park, 94th Street and Nashville Avenue, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Activities and events happening throughout the day include concessions, guess how many, child led play, carnival rides and games, ask the horticulturist booth, pony rides, bean bags, inflatables, bingo, 3 on 3 adult basketball, and Big Wheel races. New this year are $5 wristbands (per child 3 and older, adults are free). For a complete list of activities and events.

Evening entertainment will be held at the football field at Richards High School, 106th Street and Central Avenue. Gates will open at 6 p.m. The Oak Lawn Park District’s gymnastics group — the Pirouettes — will perform at 7:45 p.m., followed by the winner of Oak Lawn’s Got Talent. Dave Rudolf will take the stage at 8:15 p.m.

A spectacular fireworks display will follow the entertainment at dusk. The Village of Oak Lawn is co-sponsoring the fireworks display by Melrose Pyrotechnics with Happy Hyundai. The show is about 20 minutes long. General seating will be available in the bleachers. VIP seating is on the field only. If you cannot make it to Richards, bring a blanket or lawn chair and sit back in the open field at the South Side Baptist School, 5220 W. 105th St.

Independence Day will be celebrated on Sunday, July 3, starting with a parade at 2:30 p.m. stepping off at 127th Street and Harlem Avenue and heading north to Route 83.

Festivities begin at Memorial Park, Route 83 and 76th Avenue, immediately following the parade. Activities include Touch-a-Truck, petting zoo, Pony Wheel, Giant Slide Climbing Wall, Adrenaline Rush Obstacle Course, bounce houses, Velcro Wall, Bungee Run, Mini Train Ride, mini golf and the Jake and Elwood Bluze Review. Attraction tickets are $1 (6 for $5) and wristbands are $15 per child.

Pop’s will host a Hot Dog Eating Contest at 6:30 p.m. for police vs. firefighters and the general public at 7:30 p.m. First prize is $500 for whoever can eat the most dogs (with bun) in 10 minutes.

There will be a Bean Bag Tournament for 16 teams at 5:30 p.m. at the gazebo. Entry fee is $4 per team (two members) in advance and $5 on July 4.

Lake Katherine Presents: A Star Spangled Blast from 7-10 p.m.  There will be a Silent Auction from 7-10 p.m. A cookout supper at 7:30 p.m. (Tickets are $50 and are available at Lake Katherine, City Hall and the Recreation Department). A fireworks spectacular accompanied by a concert band starts at dusk. 

Orland Park gets its 4th of July celebration going on Friday, July 1, with the village’s annual Bike and Pet parades at Centennial Park, 15600 West Ave., and the Liberty Family Fun Run and Walk at 7 p.m. at the Metra Station, 10401 W. 153rd St. Check-in starts at 6 p.m.

First up is the Bike Parade at 5:30 p.m. Decorate your bike, Big Wheel, children's car or wagon and come join the annual bike parade at the Centennial Park ice rink. Animal lovers are invited to dress up their dog, cat, stuffed animal or other animal and come join the annual Independence Day Parade at 6:30 p.m. Prizes will be awarded for the best costumes in each category.

Participants in the Liberty Run and Walk will follow a two-mile run and one-mile walk course at Centennial Park.  Entry fee for the run is $12 for residents ($18 non-residents), and $7 for the walk for residents ($11 for non-residents). All registered participants will receive race T-shirts. Awards for overall male and female top finishers along with first, second and third place in 13 age groups, male and female, will be awarded. Post race refreshments and raffles are included.

A 50-Yard Kids' Dash, for children age 4 to 6, will be held immediately after the Liberty Run and Walk, near the finish line at the west end of Centennial Park, near ball field No. 7, past the ice skating rink. The dash is free and all participating children will receive finishers' medals.

For more information, call the Orland Park Recreation Department at 708-645-7529.

The City Lights Orchestra will perform a free concert from 5-7 p.m. Sunday, July 3, at Centennial Park West, Park Station Boulevard and Somerglen Lane in the Colette Highlands subdivision.

The evening’s fare will include a 45-piece orchestra with three to four vocalists, strings, winds, brass and percussion. The repertoire is “Americana,” with great popular music from the past 80 years from John Philip Sousa, Glenn Miller, Aretha Franklin and Frankie Vali.

Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant and Spaceco are co-sponsoring the show. Cooper’s Hawk will have staff on site selling wine and snack items. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets, lawn chairs and picnics to the event.

Free parking for the concert will be within easy walking distance at the adjacent Metra parking lot accessible from 108th Avenue, going east on Jillian Road.

July 4 events will start at 7:15 p.m. at Centennial Park with Johnny Russler and the Beach Bum Band performing on the main stage. Members of the Orland-Palos Reber-Tesmond VFW Post 2604 will present colors at 9:15 p.m., followed by a spectacular fireworks show to music beginning at approximately 9:30 p.m.

The 21st annual Stars & Stripes 5K Run and Walk at 8 a.m. Monday, July 4, kick off Independence Day activities in Tinley Park.

The run/walk starts at McCarthy Park, 16801 S. 80th Avenue. Early entry fee (through June 29) is $16 per runner ($19 with T-shirt). Registration on race day will be $25 per runner.

Celebration activities start at 4 p.m. at McCarthy Park with the national anthem sung by Megan Waltman. Festivities include bingo, penny carnival, horseshoe tournament, face painting, inflatables, games and races, stilt walkers, music by the Arts Alive Jazz Band and The Hat Guys, and fireworks at 9:15 p.m.

Throughout the day there will be food, beer, popcorn and snow cones available.

Oak Fest (June 30 to July 4) marks the 4th of July celebration in Oak Forest with fireworks by Mad Bomber Fireworks at dark on Thursday, June 30, and again on Monday, July 4, at 15601 S. Central Ave.

Oak Fest activities will include a Liberty Run at 7 p.m. Friday, July 1, at the park entrance, bands each night, carnival rides every day, stage shows, a Car Show, beanbag tournament, bingo and watermelon and pie-eating contests.

The Homewood-Flossmoor Park District will kick off 4th of July festivities with the annual Run for Freedom 5K race on Monday, July 4, at 9 a.m. at Lions Club Pool. Check-in starts at 8 a.m.

The run is open to runners of all abilities. Early registration closes on Thursday, June 30, at noon. Early registration entry fee is $22 for residents ($25 for non-residents). Race day entry fee is $30. Interested runners can contact the Homewood-Flossmoor Racquet & Fitness Club at 708-799-1323.

The Independence Day Parade will step off at 11:30 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Church and proceed down Ridge Road to the Izaak Walton preserve. This year, lots of entertainment has been added in, such as stilt walkers, jugglers, clowns, bands, bagpipes, decorated floats, giant balloons, and horses.

There will be games, music, prizes and entertainment at Izaak Walton from noon to 3 p.m.  

The Flossmoor Volunteer Fire Dept. is again sponsoring a Children's 4th of July Parade on Monday, July 4, at 10 a.m. stepping off from the Parker Junior High School Parking Lot, 2810 School St. in Flossmoor. As always, the parade is for children of all ages from strollers to two-wheelers. Children decorate their bikes, tricycles or wagons and parade down Flossmoor Road to downtown Flossmoor. There also will be a demonstration of Fire Department operations and free refreshments.   

This year’s 4th of July celebration also celebrates St. James Hospital’s 100th anniversary. The celebration will take place on Saturday, July 2, starting with a Patriotic Parade at 3 p.m. stepping off at Independence Drive and Chicago Road north to Dixie Highway and then north to Joe Orr Road and then east to Chicago Road.

At 5 p.m., the pre-fireworks show will begin at Bloom High School’s north field. The show will feature Abraxas, a tribute band known as Sounds of Santana, from 5-7 p.m. Grand Avenue Big Band will take over at 7 p.m. The 18-piece group will woo the audience with their ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s music, and has an Andrew Sisters-styled vocal trio.  The fireworks show will start at dark. Admission to all events is free to families. Food and beverages will be available for sale.

Independence Day activities on Monday, July 4, start at 5 p.m. at Main Park, 400 W. Nebraska St., and include music, inflatables, a children’s magic show, Rainbow the Clown, kiddie tattoos, popcorn wagon, beanbag tournament, refreshments by Durbin’s, carnival games and a fireworks show at 9 p.m. The B96 Street Crew will be present from 5-7 p.m. The band Cover Story will perform from 7:30-9 p.m. A $10 wristband for children includes unlimited access to inflatables, carnival games and tattoos, and Rainbow the Clown. 

Mayor Joe Werner will kick off this year’s 4th of July celebration with a free breakfast for veterans on Monday, July 4, from 7:30-9 a.m. at St. John’s Community Center, 11100 Second St. The breakfast is free to all veterans and their immediate families. Non-veteran guests will be charged $5.

Immediately after the breakfast, veterans and their guests are invited to join Werner in the 4th of July Parade. The mayor’s group will be the first entry in the parade behind the color guard. Werner and company will be riding in a collection of historic military vehicles courtesy of the Northern Illinois Chapter of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association. The vehicles will leave from St. John’s after the breakfast, enter the parade route and return to St. John’s.

The parade steps off at 10 a.m. at Wolf Road and LaPorte Road heading north to Granite (191st Street). The parade is sponsored by the Mokena Chamber of Commerce, which will be giving out free Freeze-Pops and goodie bags during the parade.

At 4 p.m., Main Park will be showing a display of unique military equipment, including cannons demonstrated by the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry.

At 7:30 p.m., the Encore Community Band will begin a free patriotic concert that will conclude at approximately 9 p.m. with a rendition of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, with cannons firing to the music. 

Topping off the day, fireworks sponsored by Pipefitters Local 597 will begin at dusk, concluding with a grand pyrotechnic finale at roughly 10 p.m.

In addition to free parking at Main Park, beginning at 6:30 p.m., free shuttles will be available from the Front Street Metra lot.

Independence Day activities will take place at the New Lenox Commons, 1 Veterans Parkway, on Monday, July 4, at 7 p.m. starting with Valid Proof, a blues and rock band. The New Lenox Lions Club 55th annual raffle winners will be drawn at 8:25 p.m. followed by the Joliet American Legion Band at 8:30 p.m. Fireworks will start at 9:30 p.m.

There will be free parking at the Metra parking lot. Shuttle service to and from this lot will be provided again this year starting at 6:30 p.m.