2022 4th of July events in West Tennessee

June 27, 2022

WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News Staff,

JACKSON, Tenn. — As the 4th of July approaches, organizers are gearing up for annual firework events throughout West Tennessee.

The Firefighters Freedom Festival is one of those events put on by the Madison County Fire Department each year at McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport.

“Gates will open at three, and we’ll have all our usuals. We’ll have free rides for the kids, we’ll have bands playing throughout the evening, and then we’ll end the evening with a big fireworks show, the largest in the area,” said Madison County Fire Chief Eric Turner.

This upcoming Monday will mark the ninth year for the event. And each year it brings thousands from across West Tennessee.

Turner says the goal for the event is to make it a family fun environment, with safety being the greatest concern.

“We have a lot of law enforcement, firefighters on the ground. So you can feel comfortable letting the kids go play on the rides and stuff. You can sit and enjoy the music. We encourage if you want to bring a picnic lunch, you can do that. Bring your own, or there’ll be food trucks set up,” Turner said.

Turner says the event is fully free, besides making a purchase from a food truck.

The evening fireworks show will be synced to music, and you can listen along on the radio while in your car.

Another West Tennessee favorite is the Festival of the Lakes at Beech Lake in Lexington.

“Our opening ceremony will begin at 5:00, but we do have our Lexington Fire Department setting up a slip-and-slide for kids to play from two to five. And then we have all sorts of food vendors. We have our grand finale, which is a 30 minute firework show,” said Melissa Gilbert, the Executive Director of the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce.

Performances include Hunt Pearson and, Emily Anne and Church Street, and Groove Band as the headliner.

There will also be a Miss Festival of the Lakes Beauty Pageant from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Princess Theater in Lexington. The newly crowned Miss Tennessee, Lauren Dickson from Lexington will also make an appearance.

“We’re extremely excited. This event brings in roughly 30,000 people to our town. Last year, I believe we set a record with almost 4,000 people actually at the lake listening to the music. So this is really good for our economy, it’s good for our community, and we couldn’t do it without our generous sponsors,” Gilbert said.

Here are a list of other events celebrating the holiday throughout Tennessee: