What's Up graphic with fireworks

Credit: Reid Murray | Managing Editor for Design

The Columbus community will be celebrating Fourth of July with a bang — featuring festivities such as parades, live music performances and large-scale firework displays. 

Read on to learn more about local celebrations in and around Columbus. Click on any event’s title for more information. 

Thursday, July 3rd:

The largest firework display in the Midwest is back for its 44th annual festival. This is the largest single-day event in Columbus, with live performances, a parade and a street festival taking place throughout the day. Music acts will begin performing on the Bicentennial Park Stage at noon. The firework display will start at 10 p.m. over the east bank of Genoa Park. 

All events of the day are free to attend. VIP tickets can be purchased on the Red, White & BOOM! website for $150 —  granting access to the VIP Village, where guests will find food, drinks, adult beverages, entertainment and the best views for the day, according to the website.

For more information, visit the event’s website. 

Friday, July 4th:

The National Veterans Memorial and Museum will stay open for the federal holiday, commemorating and celebrating Independence Day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. According to their website, NVMM will embrace their patriotic spirit by handing American flags out to visitors, hosting an educational flag activity where participants can make their own miniature flagpole and collecting guest testimonials, asking “What does July 4th mean to you?”

The museum will also host a special launch of “Red, White & Blue Elephant Toothpaste” — a safe chemical reaction that captures oxygen bubbles and creates a foam eruption — at 1:30 p.m. on their plaza. Retired Army Col. Bill Butler, the NVMM president, will lead a guided tour at 2 p.m., offering his personal and professional insights on the museum’s mission and exhibits.

For more information, visit the museum’s website. 

Celebrate “liberty and lunacy” at this year’s 42nd annual Doo Dah Parade. Lineup will begin at noon on Park St. and head north from Goodale St to Buttles Ave. The parade will commence at 1 p.m., moving through Goodale Park, Victorian Village and the Short North Arts District. The event will be supported by a free block party in the Goodale Gazebo from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., as well as free live music before and after the parade. 

“It’s a parade that features political satire in many of the participants’ themes, but other themes are based merely in nonsense,” a comment on the event’s website says. It will be filled with characters in costumes, humorous political debates, and satirists’ readings, according to the website. There is no registration required and entry is free for all participants. 

For more information and a map of the parade’s route, visit the event’s website. 

Upper Arlington will celebrate Independence Day with a series of performances and community activities. The festivities will commence at 6:30 a.m. with Paul Revere’s Ride, also known as the Wakeup Call. Volunteers will make their way through the streets of Upper Arlington to “noisily announce that the much anticipated day of celebration has begun,” according to the website.

The parade will begin at 9 a.m. and travel along Northwest Blvd. It will follow its two-mile route from Zollinger to North Star roads, and is anticipated to last about an hour and 30 minutes to two hours, according to the website. Attendees are permitted to place lawn chairs along curbs of the parade route to observe as people pass by. 

The Party In the Park will begin at Northam Park at 5:15 p.m., with parking in the UA Public Library parking lot opening at 5 p.m. 16 food trucks will be stationed along Northam Rd. starting at 3:30 p.m. The event will feature live musical guests performing from 5:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m., intercepted by an awards presentation for the best floats from the parade and followed by another performance at 7:30 p.m. The evening’s closing event, a firework display, will start at 10 p.m. Attendees can tune in to radio station 93.3 FM WODC for the soundtrack for the fireworks. 

For more information and a map of the day’s activities, visit the website. 

Worthington’s Independence Day celebration will include their Rotary Family Picnic and firework show. The picnic will start at 6 p.m. on the front lawn of the McConnell Arts Center. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets to sit on as they enjoy food, music, inflatable games and more, says the website. 

The firework display will be held at 10 p.m. and can be observed from the Thomas Worthington High School stadium grandstands, with limited seating on the field. 

For more information, visit the city of Worthington’s website.