Glen Ellyn celebrates Fourth all day

One celebration just isn't enough for Glen Ellyn to give Independence Day its due.

To do the Fourth of July up right, it takes four events to create a full day of festivities: a race, a parade, a fair and fireworks.

The holiday starts with a four-mile run followed by an 80-unit parade and segues into fun and games in Lake Ellyn Park. The daylong celebration finishes up with a fireworks display originating on the shores of Lake Ellyn.

The parade is slated to begin at noon at the intersection of Crescent Boulevard and North Ellyn Avenue, moving west on Crescent, then north on Main Street to Linden Street and then east to Lake Ellyn Park.

"It's a favorite for so many in our community. It's easy to walk to and it's centrally located," said Amy Keating, parade chairwoman. "We have a lot of community members who love participating in the parade and sign up every year. There seem to be a lot of people from Glen Ellyn who love to come back."

Parade entries will include the Glen Ellyn American Legion Post 3, the 85th Army Band, fire trucks from Glen Ellyn and several surrounding towns, student athletes from Glenbard West High School, six Scout groups and the Leyden High School Marching Band, which has 220 member musicians.

Also in the parade will be the Jesse White Tumblers, the Tunes of Glory Pipes and Drums, and the First Regiment of Light Dragoon, 5th Troop, a Revolutionary War re-enactment group.

Keating said the DuPage County Sheriff's Department is expected to bring a Humvee, old squad cars and a bike patrol.

New this year will be the addition of the Lakeside Lutheran High School Warrior Marching Band from Wisconsin, she said.

A group from the First Congregational Church of Glen Ellyn will march with shopping carts, collecting food donations that will be donated to the Glen Ellyn Food Pantry.

The parade will be led by grand marshal Robert Chambers, a lifelong Glen Ellyn resident and longtime member of the Glen Ellyn Historical Society and the Forest Hill Cemetery Board.

The parade is preceded at 8 a.m. by the Freedom Four 4-Mile Run, a race for runners 6 and older presented by the Glen Ellyn Park District. Proceeds from the race, which takes place in the vicinity of Lake Ellyn, will benefit park district scholarships for needy families.

After the parade, the park district will present its annual Afternoon Festivities, a Lake Ellyn Park tradition that will include live music performed by Chicago-area band Ear Candy and food concessions from The Stand. Park district scholarships will benefit from sales of $3 wristbands that entitle children to face painting, penny carnival games, moonwalks and an inflatable obstacle course.

The fireworks show will begin at dusk, around 9:15 or 9:30 p.m.

"We expect another really great year," said Dawn Smith, chairwoman of the Glen Ellyn Fourth of July Committee. "The fireworks will be packed in with lots of booms."

Smith said the show will feature $60,000 in colorful and loud fireworks.

"We have an awesome fireworks show every year," Keating said. "The fireworks are shot off in the football field over the lake."

Holiday revelers enthusiastically embrace the nighttime spectacle, she said.

"They will come out and put blankets out and chairs out hours and hours beforehand," she said.

If you go

What: Glen Ellyn Fourth of July Parade and Afternoon Festivities

When: Tuesday, July 4

Where: Downtown Glen Ellyn

Admission: Free

Info: gepark.org or glenellyn4thofjuly.org