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28th annual
July 4th celebration begins tonight
By Jay Turner
Citizen Staff
It has been
27 years since the Canton Recreation Commission first hosted its
town-wide Fourth of July celebration, and this year’s event,
which kicks off tonight at 6 p.m. at Canton High School,
promises to be as fun and as entertaining as ever.
In addition
to the top-notch fireworks display planned for Friday, Canton’s
annual summer extravaganza will feature many of the traditional
favorites, including live music, a food tent, and carnival rides
and games, as well as a pair of highly-touted new acts:
Conjuring Carroll and Johnny Peers and his Muttville Comics.
Maine-based
magician Conjuring Carroll has performed his “astonishing”
tricks and “wonderful mysteries” at a variety of venues
throughout New England, and tomorrow he will be in Canton to
perform a “strolling” show throughout the evening that combines
his unique blend of comedy, balloon tricks and magic.
Johnny
Peers, a former Ringling clown, will perform multiple shows both
tonight and Friday night with his Muttville Comics, a group of
15 dogs that jump rope, climb ladders, knock Johnny down, and
“walk all over him.” Peers, whose dogs have all been rescued
from animal shelters, won first place on Animal Planet’s Pet
Star in 2003.
The
celebration will also feature two band concerts. Anne Marie
Collins Country Band will perform tonight at 7 p.m., and the
Reminiscents will take the stage tomorrow night at 7.
This year,
the carnival, the stage, and all other booths and stands will be
set up in the upper parking lot at CHS, behind the Rodman
administration building, making for a more cohesive and
functional layout, according to Recreation Commission Chairman
Tim Brooks. Many people who attended last year, he said, went to
the carnival out front, but never realized that the stage or the
barbecue — manned by members of the Recreation Department — were
located in the back.
“I think
we’re going to have a great event,” predicted Brooks, while
hoping for clear skies and warm weather.
There may
even be some added excitement this year, as rain forced the
cancellation of last year’s fireworks display and convinced
hundreds who would normally come out to remain indoors. Assuming
the weather cooperates this year, the fireworks would go off at
9:30 Friday night.
Raffle
tickets to benefit the event will also be on sale for $5 each
until shortly before the fireworks begin, at which point the
winners will be announced. One winner will receive half of the
money raised by the sale of the tickets, while a second winner
will get two tickets to A Chorus Line at the Boston Opera
House.
The
festivities will run from 6 to 11 p.m. tonight and from 5 to 11
p.m. tomorrow.
The lower
lots of the high school will be open for parking tonight, but
closed tomorrow due to the proximity to the fireworks. Visitors
can also park at the Town Hall, the Canton Public Library,
Canton Junction and Emerson and Cuming; handicapped accessible
parking will be available in front of the Rodman building.
July 3, 2008
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