More fun still to come with Celebrate Fox Lake

Fox Lake residents will wait until the weekend to celebrate Independence Day, but the village will definitely celebrate, officials said.

The annual Fox Lake Independence Day celebration is set for Saturday, July 7, with a parade, a craft fair, and the annual fireworks celebration over Fox Lake.

The day begins with a parade, sponsored by the Fox Lake Area Chamber of Commerce. Lineup for the annual event begins at 9 a.m. at Grant High School at Grand Avenue and Route 59. The parade leaves Grant at 10 a.m. and winds west along Grand Avenue to the Fox Lake Commons shopping center at Grand and Rollins Road.

All entries are encouraged to have a patriotic theme and decorate their floats in red, white and blue. This year, trophies will be presented to the top entries at Lakefront Park at 12:30 p.m., during the village's Celebrate Fox Lake fun and craft show.

For more information about the parade, check out the chamber's website, discoverfoxlake.org.

This year, the craft show is moving to a larger location, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the village's Lakefront Park, 71 Nippersink Blvd.

In the past, the craft fair took place at Millennium Park, but the village elected to move the party to accommodate more people, officials said.

Officials said there will be crafters, music, food, games, a beer tent and more.

In addition, the chamber will offer storytelling at 12:45 p.m. for children of all ages, where they will be able to hear about the history from some of the nation's forefathers and relive a piece of history in period attire.

For more information about Celebrate Fox Lake, visit foxlake.org.

The Chain O' Lakes Fireworks will blast off over Fox Lake at dusk, organizers said.

The fireworks committee moved the location of their shows in 2011, and will keep the same location in 2012. This time, the barges for the event will be anchored in the center of Fox Lake to make the event visible to most home and business owners.

It also enables boaters to anchor safely while viewing the event.

The monetary goal of the committee was to raise $20,000 for the fireworks. Organizers are more than half way to their goal at this time, adding that each $1,000 spent is worth one minute of viewing time.

For more information about or to donate to the Chain O' Lakes fireworks, check out the fireworks committee page at keepthesparkalive.com.