Fireworks light up the sky over Craig Park during the Greenwood Freedom Festival in 2022. This year’s festival will be from 4 to 11 p.m. Saturday.
DAILY JOURNAL FILE PHOTO
The darker it gets, the greater the anticipation grows.
Until all at once, downtown Greenwood lights up with pyrotechnic brilliance.
As per tradition, the Fourth of July season starts early this weekend with the Greenwood Freedom Festival, the city’s largest festival and one of the area’s most popular events. Local residents can enjoy a parade, food, beer and wine vendors and a kids zone filled with inflatables.
Throughout the afternoon, dance to rock, pop, R&B and more when some of the region’s most popular party bands hit the stage. After the music stops, Grace Assembly of God will once again recognize the people who protect our freedom and keep us safe during the Honor Our Heroes event.
And it all wraps up under the fireworks-laden skies at dusk.
“I love the Freedom Fest because it involves the whole city,” said Jen Winget, Greenwood assistant director for parks and recreation. “It’s a great place for everyone to gather, enjoy and celebrate together.”
Every summer, more than 50,000 people pack into Greenwood’s Craig Park for the Freedom Festival. The city has been staging the festival-style Independence Day event annually for the past 20 years — save for a one-year hiatus in 2020, when it was canceled due to the pandemic.
Everything starts at 4 p.m. with the traditional parade. High school marching bands, police and fire departments, and civic organizations will make a loop around the Old Town area of Greenwood.
The route starts on Madison Avenue north of Old Town, heading all the way south to Surina Way. The floats and paraders will travel east to Meridian Street before marching north to Isom Elementary School.
“The parade is a good kickoff for the festival — it brings people out and activates the city, then naturally feeds into the festival for the rest of the evening,” Winget said.
With the parade complete, visitors are encouraged to gather in Craig Park, where live music will fill the air from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the park’s newly renovated event lawn. The Doo! is a local favorite, as likely to break out into Al Green and Etta James as Rihanna, Dua Lipa or Morgan Wallen.
Their performance will be followed by another Johnson County favorite, The Bishops, who blend high-octane singalong jams with crisp musicianship and vocals.
“(The Doo! and The Bishops) have both been fan favorites through our concert series, and we use a lot of feedback from those when booking Freedom Fest,” Winget said. “We thought we’d give both of them a bigger spotlight and a bigger crowd.”
Throughout the evening, food vendors as well as beer and wine makers offer options to keep up the energy and stay cool. Due to the addition of fencing around Craig Park’s event grounds, people will be able to walk around with their beverages while listening to music — a change from previous years, Winget said.
“We can expand the area where you can take your beer or wine to now,” she said. “You can take it anywhere on that event lawn, like taking it back to your chairs and watch the bands to enjoy your beverage. In the past, you were restricted to a smaller area.”
The Kids Zone returns this year, offering inflatables, face painting, and other fun family-centric activities. Unlimited inflatable access bracelets are available for $10, and individual attraction tickets can be purchased at the event.
As darkness approaches, Freedom Festival organizers hope to bring people together and reflect on those who keep our community safe. Honor Our Heroes was created by Grace Assembly of God following the Sept. 11 attacks as a way to recognize military personnel and veterans, police, firefighters and emergency workers, and all of those who dedicate themselves to the safety of the country.
“It’s been a really valuable part of the festival. We work with Grace Assembly of God on this each year, and it’s a nice way to say thank you to our veterans, active military and emergency responders,” Winget said. “It reminds us why we’re all there.”
Following the Honor Our Heroes ceremony, the focus will turn to the skies for the fireworks display, which starts around 10:15 p.m.
IF YOU GO
Greenwood Freedom Festival
When: 4 to 11 p.m. Saturday
Where: Craig Park, 10 E. Smith Valley Road, Greenwood
Schedule
4 to 5 p.m.: Parade
5:30 to 7 p.m.: The Doo!
7:30 to 9 p.m.: The Bishops
9:15 to 10 p.m.: Honor Our Heroes
10 p.m.: Star Spangled Banner and Retire the Flag
10:15 p.m.: Fireworks
Information: greenwood.in.gov
