Over 150,000 festival goers descended upon downtown Lexington last year for the annual Fourth of July Festival, and organizers this year hope to see even more.
Interestingly, in Lexington, the festival isn't restricted to just one day - it is spread out over the course of four days, with some events prior to the Fourth just as anticipated as the fireworks, such as the Patriotic Music Concert in Gratz Park (featuring the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra and Lexington Singers Young at Heart Jazz Band) and the Great American Pie Contest and Ice Cream Social in Cheapside Park.
Aside from the immensely popular parade, which had 94 entries last year, the festival is also host to the Bluegrass 10,000, the Vine Street Festival, the Waiter's Race, "Red, White and Boom" (featuring Hank Williams Jr.), and a plethora of other live music options (last year, over 30 musical acts were peppered across nine different venues downtown, with musical genres ranging from Zydeco to hip hop).