The birthday celebration for the United States takes on special meaning around Arthur.
Arthur always celebrates on the SATURDAY THE WEEKEND BEFORE JULY 4TH !!
July 1st, 2023
On the SATURDAY ON THE WEEKEND BEFORE the 4th, crowds estimated at over 30,000 people flock to Arthur for the Freedom Celebration.
Beginning on Saturday morning and continuing on Saturday right up to minutes before the fireworks, helicopter rides, food vendors, and much more to do in Arthur.
Saturday morning begins with a big parade downtown at 1pm and other activities. You will have plenty of time to enjoy the downtown festivities before heading back to Jurgens park (about 4 blocks south) for the evening’s activities.
Head to the fairgrounds on the south edge of Arthur in the late afternoon to gain a good vantage point to enjoy the activities. Arthur offers a reason to come even earlier! Food stands, a baseball tournament, an air show, skydivers, and one recent year, a “F-115 stealth fighter” fly over brought the crowd to it’s feet. The Air Show will precede the fireworks and usually features a WW II T-6 aircraft and Skydivers from Mid-America Sport Parachute Club from Taylorville, Illinois with the final skydiver bringing in the American Flag. Back this year is Central Illinois Air from Mattoon offering the ever popular Helicopter rides on site beginning at approximately 4:00pm with a cost of $ 20.00 per person.
But these are just a prelude to one of the biggest fireworks displays in central Illinois. 
Beginning at approximately 9:30pm, a continuous, 24 minute barrage of thousands of aerial displays including some of the biggest shells available in the country fill the night sky, all timed to music simulcast on 106.7 FM/The Fox.
Other crowd favorites include the 500 foot long “Wall of Fire”and the 500 foot long “Niagra Falls” display. And when the “Rural Patriot” makes his ride across 500 feet or more of flowing ground displays, people cheer.
The Fireworks display is the Biggest fireworks display in Central Illinois and is proudly presented by the Arthur Rotary Club, The Village of Arthur, the Arthur Park Board and many area sponsors including CBM Platics and Tri County Welding. The value of the Fireworks activities in Arthur is estimated in excess of $55,000.
View an informative video on Arthur’s Famous
ULTIMATE FIREBALL, one of the many pyrotechnic highlights that you can only see at
the Arthur Freedom Celebration Fireworks.
Amish children watching the parade
Every Freedom celebration needs a parade and we have one! Arthur’s Freedom Parade steps off at 1pm on Saturday with line-up beginning at NOON at the Mennonite Church Parking Lot on East Illinois St. We’d love to have participate in our parade so print out our Parade Registration Form here.
We get quite a crowd for this event, often in excess of 25,000 people, so you might want to arrive early and plan ahead for parking and viewing locations. There will be plenty of food vendors and other activities to keep you entertained.
While the fireworks and displays are free if you walk in, we hope you if you enjoyed the show you can make a donation as you leave to help fund future displays and to support the Arthur Rotary Club projects.
In addition, please note that many parking areas do have a specific charge to park.
Check the Maps Page
