Your guide to fireworks, festivals and fun

By Jody Mace
Correspondent

Posted: Thursday, Jun. 28, 2012

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Jody Mace

Jody Mace is a freelance writer based in Charlotte, where she lives with her husband, two kids, and a dog, Shaggy.

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MORE FIREWORKS

Friday

KANNAPOLIS: 9 p.m., Village Park. Follows Charlotte Symphony concert at 7 p.m.

Saturday

CORNELIUS: 9:30 p.m., Bailey Road Park, 11536 Bailey Road; fireworks follows Charlotte Symphony concert at 8 p.m.

DENVER: 9:30 p.m., East Lincoln High School football stadium. Festival, 5-9:30 p.m.

TROUTMAN: 9:15 p.m., Iredell County Fairgrounds. Festival, 5-9 p.m.

Tuesday

CONCORD: Charlotte Motor Speedway: Fireworks about 9:30 p.m., after the Legends races.

GASTONIA: about 9:30 p.m., Sims Legion Park. Follows Gastonia Grizzlies’ baseball game.

SHELBY: 9:30 p.m., Cleveland Mall, U.S. 74 (Dixon Boulevard).

STATESVILLE: 9:30 p.m., Signal Hill Mall. Live music starts at 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday

CAROWINDS: about 9:30 p.m.

CRAMERTON: 9:15 p.m., Cramerton Town Center. Festival and live music, 1-9 p.m.

FORT MILL: WBT Skyshow, about 9:15 p.m., Knights Castle, 2280 Deerfield Drive. Follows Charlotte Knights’ baseball game.

GASTONIA: Fireworks about 9:15 p.m. in downtown area, following day-long festival.

HICKORY: 9:30 P.M., L.P. Frans Stadium, 2500 Clement Blvd. N.W. Follows Hickory Crawdads’ baseball game.

KANNAPOLIS: about 9:15 p.m., CMC-NorthEast Stadium, off Lane Street near I-85. Follows Kannapolis Intimidators’ baseball game.

KINGS MOUNTAIN: 9:35 p.m., Walking Trail Park, 211 Cleveland Avenue. Events and festival, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

LAKE NORMAN (Mooresville): 9:30 p.m., Queens Landing, off N.C. 150, west of Mooresville.

MONROE: 9:30 p.m., Belk-Tonawanda Park. Live music, 7-9:30 p.m.

OAKBORO: 11:30 p.m., downtown area. Final event of town’s annual five-day Fourth of July festival.

WAXHAW: 9:30 p.m., Jackson Station, N.C. 16. Live music, 5:30-9:30 p.m.

Compiled by Steve Lyttle

No matter where you are in the Charlotte region, you can find Fourth of July fireworks and festivals. Here are some highlights.

Memorial Stadium

Presbyterian Hospital July Fourth Spectacular

6 p.m. Wednesday. Memorial Stadium, 310 N. Kings Drive. charlottecentercity.org

Enjoy fun family activities starting at 6 p.m., followed by live music by Early Ray and then Charlotte’s biggest fireworks show at 9:30 p.m.

U.S. National Whitewater Center

Coca-Cola Fourth of July Festival

4 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. U.S. National Whitewater Center, 5000 Whitewater Center Parkway. 704-391-3900. usnwc.org

The Whitewater Center’s two-day festival includes three live bands each evening starting at 4 p.m., fireworks over the whitewater river both nights when it gets dark and free samples of Edy’s Slow Churned Ice Cream all day. Admission is free and parking costs $5.

SouthPark

Celebrate America!

8:15 p.m. Tuesday. Symphony Park, SouthPark, Morrison Boulevard and Barclay Downs Boulevard. $10 adults, free under age 18. 704-972-2000; www.charlottesymphony.org.

Get an early start on your Independence Day fireworks fix by joining the Charlotte Symphony for the finale of this year’s Summer Pops – a night of patriotic music culminating in the sonic and visual pyrotechnics of the “1812 Overture” and “Stars and Stripes Forever.”

Lake Wylie

Fantastic Fireworks Display

9:45 p.m. Wednesday. Lake Wylie by the Buster Boyd Bridge – S.C. 49 at Lake Wylie, S.C. 803-831-2827. lakewyliesc.com

Best viewings are at the Buster Boyd Bridge boat landing, the outside deck at T-Bones on the Lake, Rey Azteca deck at Lake Wylie Plaza, and Lake Wylie Pizza and Italian Restaurant.

Harrisburg

Harrisburg Fourth of July Festival and Fireworks

5 p.m. Tuesday, 9 a.m. Wednesday. Harrisburg Park, 191 Sims Parkway, Harrisburg. 704-455-5614. harrisburgnc.org

Harrisburg’s two-day festival starts at 5 p.m. Tuesday with live music. On Wednesday, there will be a parade starting at 9 a.m. on N.C. 49, and the park will open at 10:30 a.m. On both nights, fireworks will be shown at 10 p.m.

Mooresville

July 3 Summer Celebration at Lowe’s YMCA

4 p.m. Tuesday. Lowe’s YMCA, 170 Joe V. Knox Ave., Mooresville. 704-716-4000. ymcacharlotte.org/branches/lowes

Celebrate with live music, vendors, bounce houses, kids’ games, face painting and fireworks.

Belmont

Red, White and Belmont

6:30-10 p.m. Friday, 2-10 p.m. Saturday and 1-10 p.m. Sunday. Stowe Park, 24 S. Main St., Belmont. 704-825-8191. cityofbelmont.org

Belmont celebrates Independence Day with a three-day festival from Friday through Sunday. On Friday and Sunday nights, fireworks will begin at 9:30 p.m.