4th of July Festivities

ST SIMONS ISLAND The Sunshine Festival on St. Simons Island includes a 5K race, golf cart parade, fireworks, live music, and a multi-day arts & crafts show. Begin your Independence Day at Mallery Park (601 Mallery Street) with the Sunshine Festival Race on the morning of the 4th. There’s a 7:00 a.m. start for the 5K race and the 1 Mile Fun Run begins at 8:00 a.m. An award ceremony follows the run. For more information about the race, including registration information and how to volunteer, visit goldenislestrackclub.com.

The annual golf cart parade assembles at Mallery Park in the afternoon July 4th. The carts will make their way through the Village beginning at 2:30 p.m. This parade seems to get bigger and better every year, so be sure to come out and grab a spot on the sidewalk to join the fun (or decorate your cart and be a part of the procession!)

Crowds will start to gather on the lawn at Neptune Park late Thursday afternoon to get ready for the fantastic 4th of July fireworks. While you wait for the fireworks, the fabulous Traveling Riverside Band will keep you entertained with a wide range of tunes that include everything from Southern and Classic Rock to CountryAmericana, maybe with a little Funk or Reggae thrown in for fun. They’ll be playing from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. At sundown (approximately 9:00 p.m.), it’s time for the pièce de résistance: the fireworks display from the Pier. After the grande finale and the final “oohs” and “aahs” die down, the band will take the stage again and play until about 10:15 p.m.

The Sunshine Festival Arts & Crafts Show hosted by SoGlo Gallery/Brunswick Actors Theatre will take place Thursday, July 4 through Sunday, July 7 in Postell Park. Local and regional vendors will be selling paintings, pottery, photographs, artisan foods and products, jewelry, woodcrafts, and more from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. For more information, visit soglogallery.com.

SEA ISLAND Sea Island Resort pulls out all the stops for members and resort guests during the Independence Day holiday. They’ll be celebrating from July 1st through 6th with activities that include the Sea Island Country

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Fair, a Firecracker 5K and an Independence Day Fun Run, an Oyster Roast and a Southern Supper on Rainbow Island, a Pirate Party on the Sea Island Explorer, the 19th Annual July 4th Parade, fireworks at the Beach Club, an Oceanside Celebration with Yacht Rock, a big banana split, bingo, and so much more. For details about Sea Island’s events, visit seaisland.com.

BRUNSWICK Brunswick’s Old Fashioned Fourth of July includes free games, free watermelon, and of course free fireworks, at Mary Ross Waterfront Park in the heart of Historic Downtown Brunswick. Festivities will begin at 7:00 p.m. Thursday and feature organized and supervised classic games like sack races, tug-of-wars, horseshoes, various ball games, hula-hoop contests and more. Players compete for prizes of delicious whole South Georgia watermelons. But don’t worry, if you don’t win or can’t play, free slices of watermelon will be handed out all evening, compliments of the City of Brunswick. The fireworks display over the waters of the East River and Oglethorpe Bay will start at approximately 9:00 p.m. and last about 30 minutes. This fun, family-friendly event is sponsored annually by The City of Brunswick, Golden Isles Arts and Humanities Association, and the Downtown Development Authority.

JEKYLL ISLAND On Jekyll Island, the 4th of July begins by celebrating America’s birthday with an old-fashioned patriotic Independence Day Parade through the Historic District at 9:00 a.m. Thursday. Local residents and island guests are invited to don patriotic attire and decorate their bikes, golf carts, strollers, and even pets, to join in the fun. Prizes will be awarded at the conclusion of the parade. Guests will arrive early to get their spots in the sand on the beach between the Holiday Inn Resort and south to the Days Inn, the best viewing location for what many call the most spectacular fireworks display in the Golden Isles. Fireworks will begin after sunset, around 9:00 p.m. when the night sky offers the best background for the impressive pyrotechnics. Parking will be available on the Great Dunes Golf Course, just a short walk from the beach. Please be aware that the Jekyll Island parking fee will be increased for July 4 holiday, with the fee at the parking gate being an additional $4 per daily/weekly pass. Annual passes are not impacted.

On Friday, July 5, from 12:00 to 6:00 p.m., Jekyll Island’s Beach Village will host “Red, White & Bounce,” a fun-filled afternoon for families with waterslides, bounce houses, sidewalk sales at the Beach Village shops, and live music on the Village Green. No charge for admission and everyone is invited!

DARIEN Darien will be celebrating the holiday a little early with their annual Red, White & Blues on the Bluff concert and fireworks display taking place at Darien Waterfront Park on June 29 from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. This free community event always draws a fun crowd. More details to be announced at mcintoshevents.info.

If you’d like to commemorate Independence Day by experiencing the life of a soldier at Fort King George during those revolutionary times, plan on attending the fort’s annual Cannons Across the Marsh program on July 4th. From 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., join soldiers at Fort King George State Historic Site at 302 McIntosh Road SE for musket firings, artillery drills, and other soldiers’ life activities honoring the holiday. Regular admission fees for the site apply.

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