A parade with about 90 entries, a scholarship pageant, concerts, car shows, races, rodeos and two nights of fireworks will be attractions during Tooele City’s Fourth of July celebration this year.
Activities start on Friday and continue Saturday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Family Friday at the Park this week features an aquarium bus arriving from Loveland Living Planet Aquarium from Draper at Aquatic Center Park, 200 W. Vine St. Snakes, spiders and critters galore will be on display from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
The Tooele Kids Tri for ages 6-12 will be held at Aquatic Center Park at 6 p.m. on Friday. Registration for the event is closed.
Music takes center stage at Aquatic Center Park at 7 p.m. Friday with Utah singer-songwriter Peter Breinholt and his four-member band. He said his performance in Tooele last year was a favorite.
“We have a whole load of new songs this year, plus we’re pulling out some older songs we haven’t done in years,” Breinholt said. “We’re trying to make our shows feel completely new this summer.”
The movie “Despicable Me 3” will be shown at 9 p.m. after Brienholt’s concert.
Adults will compete in the Tooele Tri Sprint Triathlon at 7 a.m. on Saturday at Aquatic Center Park. Registration for the event is closed.
Nine contestants will vie for Miss Tooele City at 7 p.m. Saturday at Tooele High School auditorium, 301 W. Vine St.
Three events are scheduled for Monday evening at Aquatic Center Park starting with karaoke from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., a Corvette Car Show from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and a community barbecue at 6 p.m.
“I had 42 Corvettes last year and expect a few more this year,” said car show director Rueben Trujillo.
Terry Clark, eight-time Canadian Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year, will perform Tuesday at 8 p.m. at the Tooele High School football field. Gates open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at Tooele City Hall, 90 N. Main, or Maceys, 972 N. Main.
Fireworks will light up the sky after the concert.
As of press time, 225 cowboys had signed up to compete in the 73rd Bit n’ Spur Rodeo Friday and Saturday nights at Deseret Peak Complex on state Route 112 in Grantsville.
Mutton Bustin’ starts at 7 p.m. each night with main performances at 8 p.m.
“Our grand entry is going to be extra special and extremely patriotic this year,” said Jim Harrell, rodeo chairman. “This should be one of our best grand entries ever.”
Harrell said Tooele County stepped up and improved conditions at the rodeo arena for this year’s event. Part of the upgrade includes a new sound system.
“The county has done an extra special job preparing the arena,” Harrell said.
Fireworks will light up the sky after Wednesday’s rodeo.
The 5K Kiwanis Freedom Run starts at 8:30 a.m. at Settlement Canyon. For more information, runners should call Mike Fields at 435-840-4604.
Tooele County Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a breakfast at Veterans Memorial Park at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The cost is $5 per person.
The parade starts at 9 a.m. The route runs from 500 South on Main Street to Utah Avenue, to 200 West and ends at 200 West and Vine.
Country music artist J. Marc Bailey will perform at Aquatic Center Park after the parade at 11 a.m.
Money spent downloading Bailey’s song “Some Gave All” will be used to help pay for a 13-foot-tall bronze statue of a World War II veteran to be unveiled on Veterans Day at Veterans Memorial Park at Main Street and Vine.
Entertainment and a car and bike show will continue after the parade at Aquatic Center Park.