Area July 4th celebrations planned

By BOBBY HORN JR.
CRSBY—Lake Houston-area residents can celebrate their county’s independence with multiple celebrations planned around the Fourth of July.
The celebrations will kick off the weekend before Independence Day with the East Lake Houston 4th of July Celebration on June 28 at the Crosby Fairgrounds.
The celebration will bring together the communities of Barrett Station, Crosby, Highlands and Huffman in an all-day affair.
The activities will begin at 10 p.m. with a parade beginning at the Crosby Fairgrounds. Anyone interested in being in the parade is asked to decorate his or her vehicle with the Red, White and Blue. Lineup will be at 9 a.m.

Following the parade the festivities continue at the fairgrounds with face painting, horses, moon walks, games and food. There will also be live entertainment throughout the day, a craft show, pie baking contest and wiener dog races.
Beginning at 11 a.m. there will be a car show. All entries are welcome. Trophies will be awarded for first and second place in Best in Class, Best of Show and People’s Choice.
Local veterans will be honored for their service to our country with a lunch at the American Legion Hall at 3 p.m. Diane Trautman is scheduled to be the guest speaker.
There will be a karaoke contest from 4 to 8 p.m. at the fairgrounds. The contest will feature three rounds of elimination plus a final round.
A fireworks display will light the sky at dark. For more information call 281-328-7774.
BAYTOWN—The Baytown Parks and Recreation Dept. is planning two days of celebration this year. The celebration starts on July 3 with a free concert at Bicentennial Park. The Coastliners will take the stage at 6 p.m. John Conlee will follow at 8 p.m.
On July 4, the live entertainment continues at the park with J Paul & The Zydeco Nu Breed taking the stage from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The annual Independence Day Parade will be held on Market Street and Lee Drive, next to the park from 5:30 to 6 p.m. The Eli Young Band will perform at 6 p.m. on the main stage.
This year’s festivities will feature a new event: The Mr. and Ms. Firecracker Pageant. The pageant is open to boys and girls up to 12 years of age. There will be free registration on-site until 6 p.m. The pageant will be held from 7:30 to 8 p.m.
At 8 p.m. the feature act of the night will perform. This year Baytown has brought country recording artist Tracy Byrd to the stage.
A fireworks extravaganza will follow at 9:30 p.m.
From 4 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. there will be food booths, arts and crafts vendors, game booths and a children’s area. There is no charge for the concerts and there will be free parking at Lee College.
HUFFMAN—First Baptist Church of Huffman, 25503 FM 2100, will hold their annual Freedom Festival on July 4 from 6 to 9 p.m. In the event of rain it will be moved to July 13.
This year’s activities include carnival games, a car show, clowns and cookie walk. There will be free hot dogs, apple pie and sno-cones as well as live entertainment. The night will conclude with a fireworks display.