ROANOKE, Va. – There will be plenty of ways to celebrate the 4th of July and have fun in Roanoke. You can kick off the day in Elmwood Park with games, entertainment and food.
Starting at 11 a.m., the Freedom First Festival will have inflatables lining Elmwood Park. There will also be lawn games to play, like cornhole. Children can also take a chance and try to climb a rock wall.
While the children play, parents can enjoy a drink in the beer garden or grab some food at one of the many local food trucks. Some of the food trucks that will be featured include Bootleg BBQ, Charlie Tropical, Two Roosters Kettle Corn and more.
Kelly Brammer, the special events coordinator for Roanoke County Parks and Rec said, “I am honestly just really excited to have this area be busy with families just celebrating the fourth and having a great time together. There is not a ton of things that you can always do for free around town, so I think this is a really cool opportunity for them to do something a little bit different.”
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The Freedom First Festival will also feature live music with local bands throughout the day like, Soul Acoustics, Chupacabra’s and the Jordan Harmon Band.
The night will end with a concert in the amphitheater. Starting at 5 p.m., you can enjoy the music of the 90s rock band, Sugar Ray. This is the only ticketed event of the day. Tickets are $25, and children 12 and under are free.
The band will perform until 8:30 p.m., and then fireworks will light up the sky over Rivers Edge Park starting at 9:30 p.m.
Due to the festival, Reserve Ave, Wiley Drive, and River’s Edge North Park parking lot will be closed. At 8:30 p.m., Jefferson right lane southbound from Williamson to Reserve will be closed. Also, Jefferson from Reserve Ave to the Hospital will be closed.
At 9:45 p.m., all roads will re-open after an all-clear from the fire marshal.