Who knew

when we as a nation defeated the British that we would

still be celebrating with food, drink and fireworks more

than 200 years later?

The Fourth

of July is a day for all Americans to realize the efforts

of the country's forefathers to secure independence for

the people and each city hosts its own celebration to pay

respects.

Locally,

the entertainment will be focused in Peachtree City. The

weekend's festivities kick off with The Swingin'

Medallions in concert at the Frederick Brown Jr.

Amphitheater.

They will

take the stage at 8 p.m., regaling the crowd with their

brand of beach music/party rock. Tickets are $15 for

adults and $12 for children. The next day will be the

official celebration of the Fourth of July, even though

it will be July 3.

The parade

will be in Peachtree City at 10 a.m. Golf carts, groups,

marching bands and more will take to the streets,

strutting their patriotic stuff. The parade route begins

at Booth Middle School. Later that evening, the Peachtree

Wind Ensemble community band will take the stage at the

amphitheater to perform a free concert. The show will

begin at 7 p.m., followed by the fireworks display, which

can be seen around Lake Peachtree.

The beauty

of the holiday is that it usually gives us a long

weekend, long enough for a road trip with the family.

There are plenty of events taking place elsewhere over

the weekend as well.

Callaway

Gardens is hosting a celebration on the Fourth, including

games, circus performances from Florida's Flying High

Circus, as well as miniature golf, miniature train rides,

biking, hiking, food and the music of the Fabulous

Expressions. Admission is $12 for adults and $6 for

children ages 6-12. Children under 5 are admitted free.

Westville

in Lumpkin, Ga. also offers festivities over the weekend.

Westville is a living history museum of the 1850s.

Saturday, the facility will host an old-fashioned

barbecue, as well as games for the whole family,

including three-legged races and watermelon seed spitting

contests.

There also

will be a vintage baseball game for the crowd to

participate in, featuring old time rules, equipment and

uniforms. The blacksmith's anvil will be buried and blown

into the sky with dynamite every hour on the hour to

celebrate another year of independence.

Admission

is $4 for students and $8 for adults. Call

1-888-SEE-1850.

If you're

looking into leaving the state for your holiday weekend,

you may want to consider Tennessee. Gatlinburg will host

its 23rd annual Fourth of July Midnight Parade. All sorts

of entertainment will begin at 11:45 p.m. along the

parkway and Highway 321. The parade will start at 12:01

a.m. July 4. This year's theme is "Smoky Mountain

Millennium: Showing our colors and celebrating our past,

present and future."

Also in

Tennessee will be the train ride on the Tennessee Valley

Railroad to the Chickamauga Pops in the Park. The Pullman

train will leave the Tennessee Valley Railroad depot at

4:30 p.m. and will travel to the Chickamauga Battlefield.

There will be music from the Eighth Georgia Regiment

Band, a Civil War period band, before the Chattanooga

Symphony plays.

Pops in the

Park has been hosted for 24 years. The concert and the

fireworks are free and the train will depart 15 minutes

after the fireworks display. Coach seating is $35,

seating in the Pullman section is $43 and a private

Pullman compartment is $45. Call 267-8583.

These are

just several options for the holiday weekend. Many cities

and parks in Georgia will host Fourth of July festivities

and the decision is up to you and your friends and

family.

Enjoy the

weekend and remember to be careful; accidents tend to go

up on holiday weekends. Personally, my friends and I are

dressing up as the forefathers of this country and

reenacting historical moments such as the signing of the

Declaration of Independence and Washington crossing the

Delaware, but that's just a typical weekend.

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