A Booming Celebration: Where you can see fireworks and more on July 4

Sammy Gibbons, photos by Mary Mihajlov |

Carson Park has all-day July 4 events and shenanigans.
Carson Park has all-day July 4 events and shenanigans.

Fireworks and patriotic festivities will not be hard to find around the Chippewa Valley this Fourth of July weekend. You can get the celebration started a bit early with Augusta Bean and Bacon Days, annually held during the first week of July. Festival-goers can enjoy car shows, craft sales and, most importantly, two fireworks displays; the first will be July 1 at Lions Field in Augusta. The evening of July 2 is when the next show will take place, this time at Lake Eau Claire, and Altoona’s Independence Day celebration and fireworks. That party will offer free fun for everyone beginning at 4pm at Cinder City Park. On the official Fourth of July, the Chippewa Valley Museum in Eau Claire will hold its 24th annual Fourth of July Fun Fair. The museum, which will play a multimedia presentation called “This Day” throughout the event, and its neighbor, the Paul Bunyan Logging Camp Museum, will offer free admission during the day. A surplus of food and entertainment, which will be free (or close to it), will be featured as well. The shindig will begin at 11am and ends at 4pm, just in time for people to head over to the Carson Park baseball stadium to watch the Eau Claire Express play the La Crosse Loggers at 6:05pm. Following the game, guests will be invited to stay in their seats or lounge on the ballfield and enjoy the fireworks show that will begin at nightfall. Menomonie also offers a red, white and blue affair on July 4, known as FreedomFest. Live music and typical festival shenanigans will be available starting at 3pm for all ages and a small entrance fee at Wakanda Park. That fireworks extravaganza will also begin when the sun goes down.