Six communities on the Peninsula host fireworks shows July 3 and 4, along with the parades, music, food and fun to celebrate the holiday
Christopher CloughGreen Bay Press-Gazette
DOOR COUNTY - If it's the Fourth of July holiday in Door County, there must be fireworks.
And parades. And food (including strawberries, fish sandwiches, pancakes, burritos, barbeque and more). And live music. And a whole lot more fun activities.
Six communities on the Peninsula host fireworks shows Wednesday or Thursday, July 3 and 4, along with all the other festivities that go with celebrating the Independence Day holiday. Plus, there's another community celebratory fireworks show a week later, and people can watch that show from the water as well as from land. Here's your guide to Fourth of July celebrations in Door County.
Maplewood
The Peninsula's fireworks shows start Wednesday, July 3 with the only show in Southern Door, as the Maplewood Athletic Club sponsors its annual Fourth of July celebration.
The fireworks start at dusk (about 9:30 p.m.), and the athletic club will operate the concession stand throughout the evening. Parking, and the best viewing sites, are available at Baumann Ball Park next to Forestville Town Hall, 7705 County H, just west of Wisconsin 42. Rain date is July 4.
For more information, visit forestvilletown.wi.gov.
Egg Harbor
The Egg Harbor Business Association's annual Independence Day Celebration is so big, it stretches over two days, with music and fireworks July 3 and a parade July 4.
The festivities begin with food (brats, burgers, hot dogs, cheese curds, kettle corn and more) and refreshments starting at 4 p.m. July 3 at Harbor View Park, 7809 State 42, with popular local country band Modern Day Drifters on stage at the park at 5 p.m.
The day closes with what organizers have said for years is one of Wisconsin's most spectacular fireworks shows. It goes off over the harbor at dusk, and for the first time the fireworks will be shot from a barge in the harbor instead of the community beach, allowing the beach to stay open all day and likely making it a prime viewing spot.
July 4 sees the traditional parade at 1:30 p.m. through downtown Egg Harbor, heading south along State 42 from the north end of Church Street to County T. Members of the University of Wisconsin Marching Band will not only be part of the parade but also perform the band's renowned Fifth Quarter routine in Harbor View Park after the parade. Food and refreshments again will be available in the park, starting at 11 a.m. and continuing after the parade.
Those who want to be in the parade can be in the parade – no registration is necessary. Participants simply need to be on the north end of Church Street by 12:30 p.m. to receive a copy of parade rules and line up.
For more information, call 920-868-3717 or visit eggharbordoorcounty.org.
To get even more into the patriotic spirit in Egg Harbor, Birch Creek Music Performance Center holds its traditional matinee concert, "A Birch Creek Symphonic Fourth," at 3 p.m. July 4 in the 500-seat Dutton Concert Barn on its campus, 3 miles east of the village on County E.
Classical music and patriotic tunes will be played in the program by the Symphony Session students in Birch Creek's summer music academy and the professional musicians from across the country who teach them during the day, this year featuring tenor vocalist and former Birch Creek student Jonathan Zeng. A pie and ice cream social precedes the concert at 2 p.m.
General admission tickets are $33 for adults, $10 students, free for ages 11 and younger. For tickets or more information, call 920-868-3763 or visit birchcreek.org.
Baileys Harbor
A parade, strawberries, pancakes, art, a farmers market and fireworks mark the Baileys Harbor Community Association's annual Fourth of July Celebration on July 4.
The traditional opening event for the festivities is the pancake breakfast served by the Baileys Harbor Fire Department from 7:30 to 10 a.m. at the fire station, 2404 Park Road.
More food can be found at the annual Strawberry Fest sponsored by the Baileys Harbor Women's Club. With strawberries, shortcake and strawberry ice cream sundaes for sale, it starts at 10 a.m. in Town Hall, 2392 County F, and runs until 2 p.m. or the berries are gone. Proceeds from the event, which the club has held every year since 1968, go to college scholarships for graduating high school students who live in Baileys Harbor.
Food vendors will be open at 9 a.m. in the parking lot at Town Hall and the beer tent also opens at 9 a.m. in Kendall Park.
Also at Town Hall, but outside on the lawn, an arts and crafts fair will be held starting at 9 a.m., along with face painting for the children.
The parade starts at 10 a.m. heading along State 57 through the community. Among the performers in the parade will be 132D Army Band from the Wisconsin National Guard.
After the parade, at about 11 a.m., classic rock band Glas Hamr performs in Kendall Park until 4 p.m.
Following all these activities, fireworks will light the skies over Anclam Park on the Lake Michigan shore at dusk. Watchers aren't allowed on the park beach during the fireworks – it's a fallout zone for the aerial explosives – but the show will be easily visible throughout the harbor.
With the highway being closed for the parade and the expected crowds during the day, the community is offering shuttle buses from Recreation Park to Town Hall between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
For more information, call 920-839-2366 or visit baileysharbor.com.
Sturgeon Bay
Destination Sturgeon Bay brings the music, food, refreshments and fireworks with its annual "Sturgeon Bay Celebrates the Fourth of July!" July 4 along the waterfront at Sunset Park, 737 N. Third Ave.
Food and beverages are served starting at 5 p.m., with a variety of food trucks and vendors such as The Dough Shoppe, Steel Belly BBQ, The Dog House, Aurora Burrito, Cowboy Kettle Korn LLC and Jolly Street Pizza Truck. Destination Sturgeon Bay will also sell Culver’s custard and an assortment of beverages. Those attending can get into the spirit with red, white and blue glow sticks that will be available.
Live music is provided by popular blues band Cathy Grier and the Troublemakers, taking the stage at 6 p.m. and performing until the fireworks begin at dusk (between 9 and 9:30). Viewing points can be found all around the water.
For more information, call 920-743-6246 or visit sturgeonbay.net.
Gills Rock
Fourth of July festivities at the tip of the Peninsula take place from 5 to 10 p.m. July 4 at the town park. Live music will be played and food and beverages will be for sale, and there's a whitefish sandwich fry fundraiser for Death's Door Maritime Museum, the Gills Rock satellite site of the Door County Maritime Museum that focuses on the Peninsula's commercial fishing traditions. The traditional boat parade in the bay starts about an hour before dusk (around 7:30 p.m.), with fireworks starting at dusk.
For more information, call 920-854-5448 or visit doorcountynorth.org.
Washington Island
For those taking a ferry ride off the tip of Peninsula, Washington Island's fireworks show starts around 8:30 p.m. July 4 at the Washington Island Ball Park on Main Road. They're sponsored by the Washington Island Fire Department, and firefighters will "pass the boot" around for donations to offset the cost.
Before lighting up the night, a children's parade will take place. Kids can line up at Legion Hall at about 7 p.m. and walk, ride, skate or whatever from the hall to the Ball Park in time for the fireworks.
For more information, call 920-847-2179 or visit washingtonisland.com; for ferry information to get to and from the Island, call 920-847-2546 or visit wisferry.com.
Sister Bay
The Sister Bay Advancement Association has for several years held its annual Freedom Fest party and fireworks show a Saturday or two after the Fourth and does so again with fireworks at dusk July 13 at Marina Park. For more information, call 920-854-3230 or visit sisterbay.com.
Watching fireworks from the water
Sister Bay Scenic Boat Tours and Fish Creek Scenic Boat Tours have offered special cruises to various fireworks shows off the Door County shore for a number of years.
This year's July 3 and 4 cruises are sold out for both companies, but Sister Bay Scenic Boat Tours has space as of June 25 for its July 13 cruise to the Freedom Fest fireworks in Sister Bay. This cruise, aboard a double-decker boat with bathrooms, full accessibility, snacks and a nonalcoholic bar, departs at 8:30 p.m. from the company's dock at Sister Bay Marina. Tickets are $42.
Reservations are strongly recommended and guests should consider bringing a jacket for the nighttime chill. For reservations or more information, call 920-421-4444 or visit doorcountyboats.com and click on "Specialty Cruises" under the "Boat Tours" tab. For more information on the Fish Creek tour company, call 920-421-4442 or visit doorcountybywater.com.
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 orcclough@gannett.com.
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