Family-friendly celebration set for July 4

Photo by Bruce R. Partain.

Brookshire Brothers Freedom Fest will once again be offering all the sights, sounds and tastes of an old-fashioned, community-wide Independence Day celebration on July 4 in Festival Plaza.

Families are invited to enjoy delicious festival food, children’s activities and live music, including Silverleaf Nightshade, Drag Strip All Stars and the Otis Jones Project. The evening will culminate in a dazzling fireworks display sponsored by the Nacogdoches Jaycees beginning 30 minutes after dark. Admission is free.

“This is our fifth year to hold Freedom Fest in downtown Nacogdoches, and the event just keeps getting better,” said Ashleigh Endicott of the Nacogdoches Convention & Visitors Bureau. “It’s a fun, safe, patriotic celebration that the whole family can enjoy – the kind of family-friendly Fourth of July you remember from your childhood.”

Freedom Fest will take place from 5 to 9:30 p.m. in Festival Plaza, located just south of the downtown square in Nacogdoches. Guests are encouraged to bring their lawn chairs and blankets to Festival Plaza. Coolers and picnic baskets are welcome, but glass bottles and alcoholic beverages are not allowed. Another great edition to this year’s 4th festivities is First Friday Nights. Downtown stores on the brick streets will be open late till eight to provide shoppers a chance to pick up on some great deals and then head down to Festival Plaza.

A fun children’s area will keep the kids entertained with a bungee run, giant slide, moonwalk, basketball shoot-out, obstacle course and rock wall. Tickets for all of these activities are $1 each. A $15 armband is also available and allows for unlimited play in the children’s area.

Other popular locations for viewing the fireworks are the University Mall, Williamsburg Plaza, Downtown Square, Nacogdoches County Courthouse, Coy Simms Softball Park, Brookshire Brothers on South Street and the Fredonia Hotel.

For more information about Freedom Fest, call the Nacogdoches Convention & Visitors Bureau at 936-564-7351 or 1-888-OLDEST-TOWN.