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2 parades, car show, food, music and fireworks slated

Albert Lea will have a jamboree of activities taking place over the long holiday weekend for the Fourth of July. 

Events will kick off Thursday, June 30, with Food on Fountain, in which food vendors and entertainment will be out on Fountain Street and North Broadway from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. 

Greg the Magician will perform at 2 and 3 p.m. at the Fountain Lake Park gazebo as part of an event hosted by the Albert Lea Public Library. 

That night for Thursdays on Fountain, “Whalen & the Willows” will perform from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Fountain Lake Park. 

On Friday, food vendors will again be set up in the North Broadway parking lot from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

A public cruise on the Pelican Breeze II will take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. People can bring their own drinks and snacks, and the cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children 5 and under. 

On Saturday, food vendors will again open for business in the North Broadway parking lot from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and a boat parade is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Fountain Lake, followed by a street dance downtown from 7 to 9 p.m. with live music from Papa Greezy. 

On Saturday food trucks will be out in the North Broadway parking lot, and the Pelican Breeze II will again host a public cruise from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Sunday, featuring All Batt. Call 383-7273 to put your name on the reservation list. 

The annual Third of July Parade will take place at 6 p.m., starting at the Freeborn County Fairgrounds and ending at Central Park. The theme for this year’s parade is “Flip Flops, Fireworks and Freedom,” and the grand marshal will be 100-year-old Lupe Gasca. 

Lineup of parade units starts at 4:30 p.m. that day. 

Following the parade, at about 7 p.m., there will be Music in the Park at Fountain Lake Park featuring band “Bad Habbits.” 

Events continue on the Fourth with food vendors out again in the North Broadway lot. 

The Bayside Ski Show will take place at 1 p.m. at Edgewater Park, and the 12th annual Car Show on Broadway will take place from 2 to 6 p.m. downtown. 

Classic cars, street rods, motorcycles and tractors are invited, and registration is $5 per vehicle. There is no cost for spectators.

An American Legion Commander’s Choice Award, along with a Mayor’s Choice Award, will be given out. 

The car show is sponsored by American Legion Post 56, Old Car Co. and the Albert Lea Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The Community Band will perform at the Fountain Lake Gazebo at 8 p.m. before the fireworks, with the fireworks display scheduled for dusk.