City Celebrates Bicentennial with Annual Fourth of July Parade and B-town Boom

Bloomington, Ind. - Together with its corporate partners, the City of Bloomington will observe Independence Day with particular fanfare this year in honor of the city’s Bicentennial. The annual parade, a long-standing community tradition, is paired with an inaugural downtown fireworks event this year to center the celebration in the heart of the city.

The festivities get underway with B-town Boom, a block party and fireworks show Tuesday, July 3 sponsored by Cook Group and CFC Properties.   The celebration gets underway with a family-friendly block party at 4 p.m. on Kirkwood Avenue between College and Walnut. The City partners with Cook/CFC to present the evening’s fireworks, to be launched at 9:45 p.m. from the Trades District, just to the east of North Rogers Street between 10th and 11th Streets.

“We are thrilled to celebrate our city’s bicentennial with a corporate partner that has such deep roots in the community,” said Mayor John Hamilton.  “We’re grateful for Cook’s generosity, and excited to launch the city’s first official downtown fireworks from our new business hub.”

North Rogers Street will be closed between 8th and 11th Streets from 8 p.m. until 11 p.m. on July 3, and access inside the fireworks staging area will be restricted.  Views of the display will be plentiful across downtown Bloomington.

In the event of rain, the fireworks display will be postponed until Saturday, July 7 at 9:45 p.m., although a passing storm on July 3 may simply delay the show until later that evening.  Schedule changes will be posted to the City of Bloomington’s Twitter and Facebook pages and the Cook Medical Facebook page, and shared with the media.

The next morning, the Fourth of July parade gets underway at 10 a.m.  The City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department partners with Downtown Bloomington Inc. -- together with sponsor, the Bloomington Board of Realtors -- to present this year’s pageant. The 2018 parade features 100 entries showcasing area music and dance troupes, businesses and non-profits, and emergency service providers.  Along with fire trucks, ambulances, and political candidates, this year’s parade features the Bleeding Heartland Roller Derby and Skaters, the Monroe County Community School Corporation Parade Band, and Boy Scout Troops, among many others.

The parade begins at the corner of Seventh Street and Indiana Avenue, marches west to Walnut Street, turns north for one block to Eighth Street, takes Eighth Street to College Avenue, and proceeds south on College Avenue to Kirkwood Avenue. The parade ends at Kirkwood and Indiana Avenues.

Prior to the parade, at 9 a.m., the Bloomington Community Band will perform on the courthouse square. Parade award winners will be announced on the courthouse square immediately following the parade at 11:15 a.m.  

The Fourth of July Parade and Bloomington Community Band concert are free, as is parking downtown on July 4. The parade takes place rain or shine.

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