County-wide lights and action all weekend for ‘The Fourth’

Live music, food and fireworks celebrations are offered in every community across Laurens County, beginning 6 p.m. tonight, Thursday, July 1 in Clinton with music by Hastings Stewart in Vance Park.

On Friday, Independence Day activities begin in earnest in Mountville and Lake Greenwood. On Saturday Laurens will hold its celebration, while the Town of Gray Court will have fireworks on Sunday, July 4.

• Main Street Clinton hosts Hastins Stewart tonight, July 1, from 6-8 p.m., and a barbecue food truck will also be on site at Vance Park.

• Also Thursday evening, July 1, Mountville Fire Department is coordinating the 136th Annual Mountville Community BBQ sale and the community’s quintessential All American Parade, which will take place Friday evening, July 2.

The work will begin Thursday evening with volunteers cutting onions and meat for the recipe which has been used in Mountville for all these 136 years. The cooking goes on outside for most of the night and all day Friday until the orders are ready for pick up early Friday evening, July 2.

Also Friday, July 2, hot dog suppers can be purchased at the Mountville Volunteer Fire Department starting at 5 p.m., and the community’s quintessential “All American Parade” begins at 7 p.m. The long-standing parade tradition features bikes, strollers and occasional motorized golf carts and tractors, all decorated for The Fourth.

• Also on Friday evening, July 2, Connect Lake Greenwood welcomes back The Jake Bartley Band, which will perform at 7 p.m. at Fellowship Camp and Conference Center, with fireworks on the lake near the Camp Fellowship area in Waterloo beginning at 9:30 p.m.

Connect Lake Greenwood will post any changes to its schedule on its Facebook page prior to the event and, in case of rain, it might be moved to Saturday evening, July 3. It’s a popular event for boaters and also for those who can watch from Camp Fellowship or other nearby lakeside areas.

• The City of Laurens Parks and Recreation Department had leftover tourism-related money in its budget  due to canceled athletics during the pandemic, so the City of Laurens has used those funds for equipment to add a projection light and music show to its regular line-up of music and fireworks Saturday night, July 3.

Laurens Lights The Night will all be located within the Historic Downtown Square, beginning at 7 p.m. with live music on the city stage and the pedestrian alley open for dancing.

The city’s celebration will also feature a salute to the United States Armed Forces, recognition of local veterans and the music and then the projection light show will be shown on the north face of the Historic Laurens County Courthouse. The light show and corresponding fireworks by Zambelli Fireworks begin at 9:30 p.m.

Throughout the evening, restaurants and businesses will be open late for evening dining and shopping. Live music at 7 p.m. is by Steel Toe Stiletto, an Upstate dance band, and a DJ will entertain anyone who wants to stick around and dance after the live show.

• Fireworks will again light the night sky on Sunday, July 4, when the Town of Gray Court holds its fireworks show at dusk around 9 p.m. in the Gray Court Community Park, located on Hwy. 101 South.