A Booming Good Time

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GLADSTONE - This year's Independence Day celebration in Gladstone will include a myriad of events, such as a five-mile run, parade, festivities in the park and of course the fireworks display at dusk.

The celebration will begin with the Fire Cracker Five-mile Run. Registration will start at 7 a.m. at the Gladstone Pavilion. Entry cost is $15 per person.

The Fourth of July Parade will begin at 10 a.m., as well as festivities in the park, including the inflatable rock wall, obstacle course, moonwalk and bungee run, Splat-U-Later Paintball, model truck racing, monkey bridge, and ring toss.

This year the event will have food vendors, cotton candy, a beer tent sponsored by the Gladstone Lions and a dunk tank sponsored by the Gladstone Kiwanis. Mary Beaver will be on hand selling Glo-Bracelets, Jennifer Menard will be at the event as a caricature artist and face painting and air brush tattoos will also be available.

Headline entertainment at the event includes: Adventures In Sound, from 2-5 p.m.; Derrell Syria from 5 - 7 p.m.; Feedback from 7 - 9 p.m. and the All State Band from 9 - 10 p.m. Students from 300 Michigan High Schools participate in the band.

Additional entertainment, located by the beer tent, includes the Escanaba German Band from 1 -2 p.m. and Remnants Barbershop Singers from 2 - 5 p.m.

City of Gladstone Events Coordinator Tanya Lund said parade applications are still available online.

"It's easy. They go on our Web site, they print it out, send it to me and they are done. They actually can go to www.gladstonemi.org and submit it that way," Lund said.

Norm Peterson will serve as Grand Marshall at this year's Independence Day Celebration. The Gladstone resident is 84.

New to the Gladstone celebration is the Independence Day Skate Jam, sponsored by the city of Gladstone, Brampton Bike & Ski, and D&M Subs.

Held at Van Cleve Skate Park in Gladstone on July 4, registration begins at noon, and competition begins at 1 p.m. Registration is free if registrants pre-register at Brampton or D&M until July 3. Cost will be $5 for late entrance the day of the competition. Skaters must be 18 or have a parent or guardian signature, the event will include live music by Superior Sound Works and tons of prizes as well as trophies, Lund said. For more information, call Nicole Sanderson, director of recreation, at (906) 428-9222.

Lund said two F-16 Fighting Falcons are also tentatively scheduled to perform a flyover during the City of Gladstone's Fourth of July Celebration this Saturday.

The two-ship F-16 flyover, tentatively scheduled for 8:10 p.m. Saturday, is being provided by the 148th Fighter Wing A.N.G. Base, according to a press release from Lund.

"The Duluth-based Air Nation(al) Guard has deployed to Iraq three times since 2005 and was recently selected as the 2008 Raytheon Trophy winner, making them the best Air Superiority Unit in the entire Air Force," Lund said.

Lund said it is a great honor to be able to boast these double F-16 flyovers.

"This is very cool," said Lund. "It is extremely hard to get these flyovers."