Home 9 What to do in NC 9 A Day of Celebration

A Day of Celebration

Written by: Luke Osteen

Issue: 2024, July 2024

highlands-nc-rotary-duck-derby

Our own Donna Rhodes wrote this about Highlands’ Fourth of July, “It’s an excuse to consume mass quantities of everything: food, drink, barbecue, outdoor activities, and music. Then we finish it all off with big bangs and bodacious booms. It’s the holiday that welcomes excess.”

Donna’s right, the Highlands Chamber of Commerce/Visit Highlands, NC promises a full slate of activities for everyone to enjoy:

On Thursday, July 4, attend an Independence Day Celebration. From 9:00-11:00 A.M. at Town Ball Field on Hickory Street, get your free materials to build and launch a soda bottle water rocket. It’s your chance to make a big splash.

Starting at 11:00 A.M., there’ll be free hot dog lunches served at the Town Ball Field.

At 11:00 A.M., prepare yourself for one or all of these contests at the Town Ball Field: tug-o’-war, three-legged sack race, water balloon toss, and frozen t-shirt contests (a true ice-breaker), hosted by Town of Highlands Recreation Department.

Also, the Ladder Truck display and spray-down is set for 11:00 A.M.

Continuing at noon at Town Ball Field, MAMA (Mountain Area Medical Airlift) Rescue Helicopter, will touch down for a visit.

Later, at 2:00 P.M. on the Bridge at Mill Creek, witness the annual Highlands Rotary Club’s Duck Derby. (As our Donna would say, “Release the Quacken!”) It’s touted as the most exciting five minutes in Highlands.

After you’ve had a ducken’ good time, relax a bit and then join the town for The Business, the headliners for the Special Fourth of July Edition of the Outdoor Concert Series. Gather at Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park for the music and the dancing and the good times from 6:00 to 8:30 P.M.

And then, fife and drum, please – it’s the grand finale of the day: Fireworks on the Fourth, presented by Highlands Chamber of Commerce/Visit Highlands, NC, 9:00 to 10:00 P.M. The pyrotechnics will be visible from throughout downtown.

Favorites Count: 0

My Favorites
Your favorites list is empty. Look for to add favorites to your list.