Downtown Ellijay will once again celebrate Independence Day with a parade, fireworks and other July Fourth festivities.
The day will get started at noon Thursday, July 4.
“There will be activities including a jumpy house, music, food trucks and other vendors,” said Pam Burns, of event sponsor Engage in Gilmer. A location for these activities had not been decided by press time.
The parade will begin at 7:30 p.m. It will start at Sailors Drive, then head up River Street, through the roundabout and down North Main Street toward Ellijay Elementary School. Parade lineup will start at 6 p.m.
Parade participants still have time to sign up, Burns noted. Entry fees are $35 for businesses, $25 for nonprofits and free for individuals. The parade theme is United We Stand: Patriotism and the American Worker.
Parade applications can be found at the Gilmer Arts Gallery, 207 Dalton Street. They must be received by Monday, July 1, at 5 p.m. Applications are also available online at the Downtown Ellijay Facebook page.
“We are looking for (event) volunteers,” Burns said.
Several July Fourth activities will take place just before the parade (between 7 and 7:30 p.m) including a reading of the Declaration of Independence, singing of such patriotic songs as “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America” and a musket salute fired by the Sons of the Confederacy, Burns noted.
“Friends of the Gilmer Animal Shelter (FOGAS) will also be sponsoring a bicycle decorating event at Harrison Park on the Fourth, and the bikes and wagons will be in the parade,” she added.
The City of Ellijay’s firework show will conclude the day at dark. As with past Independence Day events, the fireworks will be launched from the Ellijay Elementary campus.