MT. MORRIS — Mt. Morris will celebrate Independence Day on July 4th with the annual Let Freedom Ring Festival, featuring a full day of patriotic events, family activities and community traditions. The festival features the ringing of the Freedom Bell of Illinois at 1 p.m. in coordination with the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.
“The Fourth is huge in Mount Morris. The big thing, of course, is the patriotic program. That’s at 12:30, and then that will be followed by the bell ringing at 1:00, and then the parade kicks off at 2:00. And then something that we started in the last year is the LFR Block Party, which is down by the school where the fireworks are fired off later. The block party starts at 6:00 o’clock, and that includes Rick Lindy and the Wild Ones, and bounce houses for kids and food trucks and all sorts of things so that people can kind of get ready for the fireworks. And then following that at 8:00 o’clock is the Kable Band, and then the fireworks kick off at dusk after that,” said Jeff Bold of Encore Mt. Morris.
Other events include the Fireman’s Breakfast, the Fly In Drive In Breakfast at the Ogle County Airport, craft and food vendors, a classic car show, silent auction, bake sale and contests throughout the day. Organizers say thousands of visitors are expected to attend the annual celebration.