GREENSBORO, N.C. — The 4th of July means it’s time to celebrate America's birthday like it’s 1776 and Downtown Greensboro is the perfect place. For the fourth year, Downtown Greensboro Inc. is hosting the Fun Fourth Festival. Zack Matheny is the President of Downtown Greensboro Inc. and said the best part is people coming together for the holiday.
"The looks on people’s faces, the smiling, the family gatherings, the friends seeing friends they haven't seen in a while, the music scene," Matheny said.
The free concerts, fireworks and fun pops off on Wednesday night. The party starts with the American Block Party at 7:00 p.m. in the parking lot at the corner of Edgeworth and Elm. There will be a free concert sponsored by Wrangler and fireworks.
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"It is something different with the fireworks going off on the 3rd instead of the 4th, but the best thing about that is the Grasshoppers have it on the 4th as well," Matheny said.
On Thursday, festivities begin at 7:30 a.m. with the Freedom Run, and then continue from 1:00-8:00 p.m. with the street festival. With the 100,000 people expected to make it to Elm Street on the 4th, you want to be prepared.
PARKING
If you don’t plan ahead, parking can be a nightmare for any festival you go to. That's why we have broken down the best places for you to park:
-Greene Street Parking Deck has 706 spaces
-Church Street Parking Deck with 417 spaces
-Bellemeade Street Parking Deck has 1276 spaces
To find more parking spaces, check here.
STAYING COOL
After parking and walking around, you’ll need to find a place to cool off. The Greensboro Fire Department is bringing its fire truck misting station and it will be at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. and S. Elm Streets.
There will also be misting tents set up all down Elm Street. A cool way to commemorate the red, white and blue.
"We've had a lot of success in these 4 years and hopefully people this year will spend more time with us in Downtown Greensboro." Matheny concluded