Whether you’re looking for outdoor fun, live music, food or fireworks, there’s plenty to choose from.
Here’s a look at just a few of the festivities on tap in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia for the Fourth of July holiday:
• Natural Tunnel State Park in Duffield, Virginia, will offer special programming July 1-4. From critter crawls to stories by the campfire, there’ll be activities throughout the day on Friday. Saturday and Sunday feature a variety of outdoor activities, including canoe trips and wild cave tours, and guided tours of the Daniel Boone Wilderness Trail Interpretive Center and Wilderness Road Blockhouse. There’ll be live music at the amphitheater on Sunday at 6 p.m. featuring The Lee Players, Jim Ann Country and LampLight Theater performers. The park will wrap up the weekend on Monday with the Independence Day Bike Parade through both campgrounds at 11 a.m. followed by Fourth of July games and activities from 1-3 p.m. and homemade ice cream at 4 p.m.
• Symphony of the Mountains will celebrate with its annual summer series of concerts featuring patriotic music and family favorites.
The symphony will present a free Independence Celebration Concert in Pennington Gap, Virginia, on July 3 at 7 p.m. at Leeman Field. The concert concludes with a tribute to fallen soldiers and recognition of all veterans.
There’ll be a July 2 performance at 8 p.m. at the Southwest Virginia Cultural Center Amphitheater in Abingdon, Virginia. The symphony will perform two shows in Banner Elk, North Carolina, on July 4 at 5 and 7:30 p.m. at Lees-McRae College. Tickets for the Abingdon and Banner Elk shows are available online at symphonyofthemountains.org.
• The 68th Annual Mack Riddle American Legion Independence Day Parade will be held Saturday, July 2 at 10 a.m. The parade begins at the Renaissance Center and proceeds down Center Street to Fort Henry Drive at Memorial Park.
• 38 Special will headline the inaugural Red, White & BOOM Independence Day Celebration in downtown Kingsport. The event will take place on Main Street in the Centennial Park area on Saturday, July 2, beginning at 5 p.m. and will end with Kingsport’s largest Independence Day fireworks display to date.
Concerts will begin at approximately 6:30 p.m. Opening for 38 Special on the Cardinal Glass Industries Stage will be The Ultimate Garth Brooks Tribute. Red, White & Boom is free and open to the public. The fireworks display will be from the traditional location behind Citizens Bank at approximately 9:45 p.m. or immediately following the concert.
• The Independence Day celebration at Covered Bridge Park in Elizabethton will be held Saturday, July 2, beginning at 3:45 p.m. There are several events planned for the afternoon, and food trucks will be available throughout the day and evening.
Spank! will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. for a special performance with a fireworks finale, sponsored by Tour Carter County and the Elizabethton/Carter County Chamber of Commerce, to close out the event.
• The 2022 Jonesborough Days Festival will be held July 2-3. This event includes family activities, live music, handmade local crafts, a patriotic parade and fireworks. Admission to the festival is free. Festival hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on July 2 and noon to 10 p.m. on July 3. The fireworks display starts at 10 p.m. on July 3 to wrap up the celebration.
The Main Stage entertainment kicks off Saturday from 6-7 p.m. on Courthouse Square beside the Washington County Courthouse with Zach McNabb and the Tennessee Esquires, a traditional country band. The Beach Nite Band, formerly known as the Collegians, will play from 7-9 p.m. Then, on Sunday, Electric 94.9 will play music and broadcast live from 6-8 p.m. to set the stage for Queen Legacy – A Tribute to Queen at 8 p.m.
Fireworks will be shot from the Washington County Library at 10 p.m.
Visit jonesboroughdays.com or call 423-753-1010 to learn more.
• The 35th annual Independence Day Fireworks Celebration will return to the grounds of Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City on July 3. The evening’s festivities will kick off at 5 p.m. with food service, craft booths and children’s games. The first musical act of the night, Restless Road, will take the stage at 6 p.m., followed by Adam Doleac at 7 p.m. and Tim Dugger at 8:15 p.m. Fireworks will begin at 9:55 p.m.
• Scythian with Florencia & The Feeling will perform at the Star-Spangled Border Bash on July 4 at Cumberland Square Park in Bristol, Virginia. The free event begins at 6 p.m. with music starting at 6:30.
