Whether you're looking for a huge shebang, a community festival, or a country setting - here's a list of your best places to see some patriotic explosions this weekend.
NEW ALBANY
We all know you can see the Louisville fireworks just as well from the Indiana side of the river. Rather than try to compete with the big Waterfront Independence Festival on the Louisville side of the river, New Albany has wisely decided to stretch out the explosive fun by holding their firework's display on Saturday. Why not? The holiday falls on a weekend this year. Might as well get in as much explosive goodness as possible.
From 3 - 10 Saturday, the New Albany Riverfront Amphitheater will feature a trio of bands, some vendors, a few things for the kids to play on, all capped off with a light show when the sun goes down.
LOUISVILLE WATERFRONT
It's not Thunder Over Louisville.
I always want to love the city's big 4th of July Waterfront Independence Festival but when the wind is right I can still smell the powder and feel a hint of shrapnel on my face from the glory that was Thunder Over Louisville in April. It's a hard act to follow.
Here's the thing - for those of you who say Thunder is just too darn big, the Waterfront 4th of July celebration should remind you of the good old days when the crowds weren't so thick, the show was shorter, and you really could walk a couple blocks and genuinely get away from it all. By normal firework standards, it's still a darn good show...it's just not Thunder.
KIWANIS FIREWORK DISPLAY
If you don't want to spend $500 on your own personal fireworks arsenal but still want something smaller than the downtown show, venture out to Corydon for the Kiwanis Fireworks Display at the Old Capitol Golf Club. There's not much going on other than big shiny lights in the sky, but hey, not everything has to be a day long festival.
CRESCENT HILL
Artists and musicians take over the grounds of the historic Peterson-Dumesnil house for the 27th annual Crescent Hill Old Fashioned Fourth of July Art and Music Festival. If the St. James Art Festival, Cherokee Triangle Art Festival, and Butchertown Art Festival weren't enough for you, here's another.
In addition, 35 folksy acts ranging from traditional bluegrass to acoustic guitar will keep people entertained over the weekend, plus a parade of antique cars, mini golf, and some suspiciously modern inflatable bouncy castles for the kids.
It caps off on Sunday night with a hand fired Zambelli fireworks display.
HORSESHOE CASINO
Horseshoe Casino is bringing in the legendary B.B. King as part of their Outdoor Summer Concert Series. Unlike the other shows, this one isn't free (tickets range from $25-75), but hey, you're seeing B.B. King! When the concert ends, they'll cap the evening off with fireworks outside and legal smoking indoors.
BULLITT BLAST 4TH OF JULY
For those of you who are feeling a little more country this year, head to the Paroquet Springs Conference Center on the banks of the Salt River. They'll have country music, a petting zoo, pony rides for the kids, a pie eating contest for the adults, and, of course, fireworks.
Photo courtesy Chris-Rachael Oseland.
