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Local residents and visitors may want to consider making a long weekend of the July 4 holiday.

July 4 falls on a Thursday this year, however, the celebration will linger on here in Lincoln County this year as Crab Orchard hosts its annual Independence Day celebration over the weekend.

Join the town of Crab Orchard on Friday, July 5, and Saturday, July 6, for food, fireworks and fun along Main Street and Lancaster Street during this year’s “There’s No Place Like Home” event.

The festivities kick off at 6 p.m. Friday with a car cruise. Vendors will also be opening their booths starting at 6 and Miss Crab Orchard pageants will get underway. There will also be a watermelon crawl. The car cruise runs from 6 to 8 p.m and will be followed by a street dance from 8 to 11 p.m. DJ Greg Hibbard will be providing the music for the street dance.

The activities start much earlier Saturday morning, with the doors opening at Crab Orchard Elementary School at 7:30 a.m. for the annual Country Ham Breakfast. Breakfast will be served from 7:30 to 10 a.m. A car and tractor show will run from 10 a.m. until noon on the school grounds.

The annual parade will take to the streets at 1 p.m. Dignitaries for the parade are Sen. Rick Girdler, grand marshal, and Jim Wardlow, Citizen of the Year.

The day’s celebration continues with a water balloon toss at 3 p.m., golf cart drags at 3:30 and a golf cart backseat driver contest at 4. A cornhole tournament will follow at 6 p.m.

Josh Logan will take the stage at 7 p.m. for a concert and the start of another street dance. The concert and street dance will run from 7 to 10 p.m.

Then stick around for the annual Independence Day fireworks show at 10 p.m. The display will be set off in the field by Eastern Kentucky Scrap.