The H-F community will celebrate the nation’s birthday with parades that showcase local organizations and a big party that brings the whole community together.
Homewood’s parade will begin at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph Parish parking lot, 17951 Dixie Highway. The parade travels south to Ridge Road, then east to Izaak Walton Nature Preserve.
Parade watchers always line the mile-long route, and when the parade ends, they congregate in the preserve for Family Fun Fest, sponsored by the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District, Izaak Walton and the village of Homewood.
The fun fest will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Entertainment will include a DJ, inflatables, spin art, face painting and carnival games. There will also be yard games such as giant checkers and bean bags, according to park district officials.
Tickets for activities cost 50 cents each. Activities range between one and three tickets each. Wristbands will also be available for $15 and provide for unlimited play on inflatables and games.
For more information, call 708-957-0300.
Flossmoor’s Fourth of July Children’s Parade steps off at 10 a.m. from the Parker Junior High School parking lot. Participants will begin lining up at 9:30 a.m.
Children of all ages are welcome to participate and everything from strollers and wagons to bikes and scooters is allowed. Participants can decorate their ride and win a prize. The parade is hosted by the Flossmoor Volunteer Fire Corporation.
Engine No. 4, Flossmoor’s recently renovated fire truck, is expected to be a highlight of the parade. The truck first went into service in 1947 and was an active unit in the fire department for the next 32 years.
It has been a part of nearly all the Fourth of July parades since then and remains a symbol of the village and its fire department.
The fire truck recently underwent months of renovations out-of-state; the restoration work was estimated to cost between $40,000 and $50,000.
Fire Chief Chris Sewell said work on the final parts of the renovation was completed at the beginning of June.
Editors Tom Houlihan and Eric Crump contributed to this story.