Arthur's Freedom Celebration and Fireworks
            June 30, 2012

 

The birthday celebration for the United States takes on special meaning around Arthur.
Arthur always celebrates on the SATURDAY BEFORE JULY 4TH !!

On the Saturday closest before the 4th, crowds estimated at over 30,000 people flock to Arthur for the Freedom Celebration.

Beginning on Saturday morning and continuing on Saturday right up to minutes before the fireworks, there will be craft shows, parades food vendors, a petting zoo, mechanical bulls, helicopter rides and much more to do in Arthur.

Saturday morning begins with a special craft show downtown, followed by a big parade downtown at 1pm. Following that there will be a special live wrestling performance downtown, and other activities. You will have plenty of time to enjoy the downtown festivities before heading back to Jurgens park (about 4 blocks south) for the evening's activities.

Head to the fairgrounds on the south edge of Arthur in the late afternoon to gain a good vantage point to enjoy the activities. Arthur offers a reason to come even earlier! Food stands, a baseball tournament, an air show, skydivers, and one recent year, a "F-115 stealth fighter" fly over brought the crowd to it's feet. The Air Show will precede the fireworks and usually features a WW II T-6 aircraft and Skydivers from Mid-America Sport Parachute Club from Taylorville, Illinois with the final skydiver bringing in the American Flag. Back this year is Central Illinois Air from Mattoon offering the ever popular Helicopter rides on site beginning at approximately 4:00pm with a cost of $ 20.00 per person.

But these are just a prelude to one of the biggest fireworks displays in central Illinois. A continuous barrage of aerial displays including some of the biggest shells available in the country fill the night sky. And when the "Rural Patriot" makes his ride across 500 feet or more of flowing ground displays, people cheer.

 

View an informative video on Arthur's Famous
ULTIMATE FIREBALL, one of the many pyrotechnic highlights that you can only see  at
the Arthur Freedom Celebration Fireworks.

 

 

 

Every Freedom celebration needs a parade and we have one! Arthur's 2012 Freedom Parade steps off at 1pm with line-up beginning at NOON at the Mennonite Church Parking Lot on East Illinois St. We'd love to have participate in our parade so print out our Parade Registration Form here.

Fireworks 2011 Event Maps page. Note-the year may change but the MAP WILL BE THE SAME FOR 2012

We get quite a crowd for this event, often in excess of 25,000 people, so you might want to plan ahead for parking and viewing locations. While the fireworks and displays are free if you walk in, we hope you can make a contribution as you  leave if you enjoyed the show to help fund future displays and to support the Arthur Rotary Club projects. 

 

In addition, please note that many parking areas do have a specific charge to park.
Check the Maps Page

Remember, Arthur's big Celebration is the SaturdayBEFOREthe 4th... June 30, 2012