The City of Aurora government is set to celebrate America’s 250th birthday in style with the annual Fourth of July Fireworks Show, featuring the 6050s Band, and Fourth of July Parade.
The City’s Fourth of July Fireworks Celebration will take place Friday, July 3, from 6 p.m. to 9:45 p.m.. Two viewing locations will be available for the public: RiverEdge Park, 360 N. Broadway Avenue, and McCullough Park, 150 W. Illinois Avenue. DJ Suavesmooth will provide music and entertainment at RiverEdge Park, while DJ Pena will spin the beats at McCullough Park. The 6050s, a local band consisting of residents and City employees, will be perform a free concert at RiverEdge Park. Food trucks will be on hand at Wilder Promenade, 350 N. River Street, and McCullough Park throughout the evening. The City’s fireworks display will launch at dusk, close to 9:15 p.m..
Saturday, July 4, the City will host its annual Fourth of July Parade, beginning at the intersection of Benton Street and Broadway Avenue at 10 a.m.. For best viewing capability, the Reviewing Stand will be placed in front of the David L. Pierce Art and History Center, 20 E. Downer Place.
Lifelong leader and longtime community member, Junaita Wells, will serve as this year’s parade grand marshal. Wells moved to Aurora in 1972 and has served in a number of leadership positions throughout the City. She is the past president of the Fox Valley American Legion 798 Women’s Auxiliary, a former board member of the Marie Wilkinson Child Development Center, and a charter member of the Bionic Temple 1296 Improved Benevolent Protected Order of the Elks of the World. Wells is currently a member of Blacks in Politics and the African American Black Business Expo Committee, serves as the secretary for Friends of LaSalle Street Historic Auto Row, and assists Progressive Baptist Church’s women’s ministry and children’s church. She was also an 18-year member of the East Aurora School District 131 Board of Education and a 12-year member of the Aurora Township Board of Trustees. Today, she is the mother of two children, grandmother of three grandchildren, and great-grandmother of four great-grandchildren.
Immediately following the Parade, the City of Aurora’s Grand Army of the Republic Military Museum will open its latest exhibit, America’s 250th: How the G.A.R. Shaped Our Nation, to further commemorate America’s 250th Anniversary, as well as the 149th anniversary of the laying of the Museum’s cornerstone.
—City of Aurora government