Music, barbecue, fireworks and a parade are just some of the festivities on tap July 1-4, 2016 as the mountain resort towns of Banner Elk and Beech Mountain join forces for the inaugural Mile High Fourth of July.
This first-ever event creates an extended getaway weekend beginning Friday, July 1, and running through Monday’s July 4th holiday. The two towns, known for cool summer temperatures and warm hospitality, are excited to collaborate on an annual event in celebration of our nation’s independence.
“Banner Elk always holds its parade and ‘party in the park’ on the Fourth, while Beech Mountain always holds its fireworks and ‘roasting of the hog’ on the Saturday closest to the Fourth, so it seemed like a natural fit to partner on a larger celebration,” says Mike Dunn, chairperson of the Banner Elk Tourism Development Authority.
The officially-designated schedule of events includes live music from nine bands, a fireworks display above the mile-high summit of Beech Mountain, the 47th annual Roasting of the Hog feast on Beech Mountain, and one of the South’s friendliest, most patriotic Fourth of July parades on Main Street in Banner Elk.
The parade concludes in Tate-Evans Park in Banner Elk, where there will be food vendors and traditional July 4th contests like sack races, three-legged races and a rubber duck derby.
Fans of live music have their choice of nine performances, headlined by a Sunday afternoon concert in the Beech Mountain town meadow by Charlotte’s Brandon Kirkley & the Firecrackers. The aptly-named band will perform classic and modern rock and pop hits, many of which have a patriotic theme.
Art on the Greene takes place all four days at the Historic Banner Elk School and features hand-crafted items from across the Blue Ridge and beyond. Theatre aficionados can catch one of three performances of Mary Poppins, part of the Lees-McRae College summer theatre series.
Great food is available at restaurants in Banner Elk and Beech Mountain, as well as scenic chairlift rides to the summit of Beech Mountain.
For details and lodging info for the Mile High Fourth, call 800-468-5506 or go online to: www.MileHighFourth.com.
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