Hard to believe, but it\u2019s the Fourth of July weekend already!\u00a0If you are looking for an exciting and appropriate way to celebrate our country\u2019s independence, we have the answer for you right here at home in Van Wert.\u00a0 With the Fourth of July falling on a Friday this year, we are very fortunate to be one of a very few communities to offer a symphony orchestra on the day of the holiday.\u00a0 The Lima Pops Orchestra will present an All-American concert entitled \u201cCelebrate America!\u201d<\/p>\n
Maestro Crafton Beck will make a return to Fountain Park with a program guaranteed to lift every American citizen\u2019s spirits.\u00a0 The program is filled with inspirational music from the opening \u201cStar-Spangled Banner\u201d arranged by Zaninelli to the 1812 Overture<\/i>, complete with everything you may expect.\u00a0 In between, you will enjoy other patriotic favorites, as well as music that transcends all ages.\u00a0 Broadway tunes, including selections from the beloved Oklahoma!<\/i> sung by our own Mary Ann Falk, and movie themes such as Pirates of the Caribbean<\/i> and Around the World in 80 Days<\/i>, are just a portion of the show.<\/p>\n
There are many communities that would love to have such a celebration concert such as we will have in Van Wert, Boston and Washington, D.C.\u00a0Invite your friends to Fountain Park and enjoy a beautiful and fun Independence Day celebration.\u00a0The weather looks like it will be gorgeous and pleasant.\u00a0Food will be provided in the park by our friends at Youth for Christ.<\/p>\n
This is just the pinnacle of the day\u2019s celebrations.\u00a0 Actually, many activities will highlight our \u201cHoliday at Home\u201d celebration.\u00a0 From 7-11 a.m., the Veterans of Foreign Wars post is serving a pancake and sausage breakfast at Post 5803, located on North Shannon Street.\u00a0 There is also the 21st annual Firecracker Bike Tour, which starts at 7:30 a.m., where bikers can experience the rich farmlands of what was once the Great Black Swamp.\u00a0By 11 a.m. you will want to make your way to Main Street for the annual Independence Day patriotic parade.\u00a0 Right after the parade, this would be a great opportunity to then take your lawn chairs down to the park for the evening concert.\u00a0Then, head to the Van Wert County Historical Museum complex, where there will be food vendors (Van Wert Rotary Club, among others), arts, crafts demonstrations and music.\u00a0 Gather with friends and visitors for a relaxing time.<\/p>\n
Food for supper will be available in Fountain Park beginning at 5:30 p.m. and the concert begins at 7 that evening.\u00a0 The concert should be over around 9 p.m.\u00a0 That will give you enough time to leisurely make your way to Smiley Park to enjoy the fireworks display that will begin around dusk (10 p.m. or so).<\/p>\n
As you can see, this is truly a Holiday at Home experience you will want to invite your friends to.\u00a0 It\u2019s all happening right here in Van Wert!\u00a0 Happy birthday, America!<\/p>\n
Seats are beginning to fill up for some of the concerts at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center already.\u00a0 With the announcement of the new season, NPAC Members have been purchasing seats and now we are selling Grand Series tickets.\u00a0 This is for people who want everything on the menu.\u00a0 A very important date coming up is Tuesday, July 8.\u00a0 This is when the Select Series goes on sale.\u00a0 You select exactly which concerts you are interested in attending and create your own little package of three or more events.\u00a0 Three to five events receive a 10 percent discount and six or more receive a 15 percent discount.<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t stress enough how important it is to take advantage of this opportunity beginning July 8.\u00a0 Some of the very \u201chigh profile\u201d concerts actually sell out, leaving those wanting single tickets out of luck.\u00a0 If you have any questions, feel free to contact the box office at 419.238.NPAC (6722.)<\/p>\n
Enjoy the weekend and all the festivities as we celebrate America!<\/p>\n
FIN\u00c9.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hard to believe, but it\u2019s the Fourth of July weekend already!\u00a0If you are looking for an exciting and appropriate way to celebrate our country\u2019s independence, we have the answer for you right here at home in Van Wert.\u00a0 With the Fourth of July falling on a Friday this year, we are very fortunate to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-20 04:57:40","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53182\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}