Highlands has a lot of “big” days on the calendar each year.
But there is no day bigger than July 4.
With the Independence Day holiday just around the corner, the Rotary Club of Highlands, the Highlands Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Highlands Parks and Rec Department are gearing up for another banner year.
The festivities will get underway at 9 a.m. with the Boys Scouts of America water rocket launch at the Highlands Baseball Field on 4th Street. Children can build their own rocket out of provided materials and do battle with their friends to see whose rocket reaches the highest point.
Following the rocket launch, the field games will begin at 11 a.m. There will be a sack race, water balloon toss, and the always popular team tug-o-war.
“July 4 is a great day for families to come out because there really are activities for all ages throughout the day,” Highlands Parks and Recreation Director Lester Norris said. “As we do every year, we are hoping that we get a nice warm sunny day. If we do, we expect there will be big crowds.”
The Mountain Area Medical Airlift (MAMA) helicopter is scheduled to land at the baseball field at noon. Spectators will get their chance to see inside the chopper and learn about all of the amazing lifesaving equipment onboard. During the field games and the helicopter tours, members of the Rotary Club of Highlands will be serving up free hot dogs and drinks from their concession area adjacent to the ball field.
“The hot dogs and drinks will be available to the public free of charge, but of course we do accept donations, and all of the money raised stays in the Highlands community through our partnerships with local nonprofit groups,” Rotary President Chris Wilkes said. “We will also be selling ducks for the annual duck derby, which is a really fun event.”
At 2 p.m. thousands of ducks will be dumped into Mill Creek and race downstream to the finish line near 4th Street. The person whose duck crosses the line first picks up a cool $250 cash prize. There are additional prizes for the owners of the first five ducks to finish the derby.
Following a dinner break, the holiday festivities continue at Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park at 6 p.m. when the Diamond River Band will take the stage for a free concert sponsored by the Highlands Chamber of Commerce. Diamond River Band is a young, versatile, and hip party band that spans the decades with a special emphasis on classic rock, motown, country and current hits.
When the music stops, it will be just about time for Highlands’ annual fireworks extravaganza – scheduled for approximately 9:05 p.m. once the sky is dark enough.