After plans for Fayette’s annual Independence Day festival seemed abandoned, even as the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, Downtown Fayette has swept in and revived the Party in the Park.

Returning will be annual favorites such as the parade and frog & turtle races, along with the Little Mr. and Mrs. Firecracker contest with several new features planned. A special thank you goes out to Downtown Fayette for rescuing the celebration on short notice. Their hard work in rapidly putting together the annual Party in the Park deserves considerable admiration.

Friday is a federal holiday since Independence Day falls on a Saturday. Banks and government buildings will be closed all day. Most businesses will be closed on Saturday as well. However, Fireside Bakes & Brews downtown will open with normal Saturday hours on July 4, from 7:30 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Also open all day on July 4 will be McMillan’s Cafe. Located at 108 South Main Street. Mac’s will serve drink specials all day and will host an Independence Day Cornhole Tournament starting at 3 p.m. See the advertisement on Page 6.

First up for the Party in the Park on Saturday, July 4, is the parade around the park to kick off a full day of family fun. Lineup is scheduled for 10 a.m., with the parade winding around the park starting at 10:30 a.m. from the Fayette High School parking lot on Herdon Street. The parade route will run counterclockwise around the entire park, rather than winding through middle on Landers Memorial Drive. This year’s Grand Marshal is local Army veteran Josh Kirby.

The annual Frog & Turtle races will take place on Lembke Field in the park immediately following the parade. The highly anticipated event, hosted by Central Missouri Transmission, returns for its sixth year, with $250 in prize money for first-place winners. Second-place winners will receive $100, with $50 for third place. The event is open to kids 12 and under and will run in three heats.

The Fayette pool opens at noon with free admission all day until 6 p.m. The splash park will also provide welcome relief during the hot day, with highs forecasted in the mid-90s. The splash park is free to use all summer during daylight hours.

Afternoon activities will mostly take place in the shelter houses in the southeast section of the park.

At 1 p.m. the Fayette Area Community Theatre (FACT) will host bingo in the lower shelter house.

The Howard County American Legion will host a pulled pork fundraiser in the upper shelter house starting at 2 p.m. Then at 2:30 p.m., the Howard County Republican Central Committee will draw the winner of a fundraising raffle for an AR-15, also in the upper shelter house.

At 3 p.m., the Little Mr. and Mrs. Firecracker pageant will take place in the lower shelter house for kids up to six years old. The cost to enter is $5.

Vendors and food trucks will open shop around 3 p.m. by the pool.

Closing out the afternoon will be a performance of “76 Trombones” from “The Music Man” by FACT. The local theater was preparing a performance of the musical next week but was forced to change productions due to rights issues with the show. Instead, FACT will present an All-American Musical Review in celebration of America’s 250th birthday. Show times are 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, July 10 and 11, and 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 12, in the Central Methodist University Little Theatre. A QR code to purchase tickets appears in an advertisement on Page 12.

The celebration concludes with the annual fireworks display at dark by J&M Displays. The display costs $4,200 and is normally paid for by donations. So far, the city has collected $2,400, including $100 from this newspaper. To contribute, stop by City Hall on South Main Street. Checks should be made out to “The City of Fayette.”