The Town of Chapel Hill announced Thursday it will hold a fireworks display for the Fourth of July holiday this summer.

Most town events in the last 18 months were canceled to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and follow public health measures. That means the community did not see events like last year’s Fourth of July celebration, as well as Halloween, holiday parades and festivals.

This year, however, Chapel Hill’s Community Arts and Culture department will orchestrate a fireworks show at Southern Community Park on Sunday July 4, marking one of the staples of celebrating the holiday.

Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger confirmed the news to 97.9 The Hill on Thursday.

“This will be a smaller scale event because we didn’t have as much time,” said Hemminger. “But the staff has been working diligently to pull it all together and we want people to be able to come celebrate safely. We’re excited to be able to offer this event, and next year, it’ll be back to full-scale Fourth of July celebrating.”

It will mark one of the first major events set to be held since mass gathering limits were rescinded, as will several Juneteenth events scheduled for this weekend.

Hemminger said public health and safety are still top of mind for the town government, even as they’ll be welcoming people to watch the fireworks.

“We’re still asking people to be safe and remember to keep safety in mind,” said the Chapel Hill mayor. “We know a lot of children aren’t vaccinated yet, so I know some people will be more comfortable wearing masks, and that’s their right.”

Past years of the town’s Fourth of July event included musical performances and speakers. No additional programming is scheduled around this year’s Fourth of July event, according to the town government, and further details on parking are set to be released soon.

Meanwhile, the Town of Carrboro is also returning to do a popular Fourth of July tradition in-person once again. The 8th annual reading of Frederick Douglass’ essay “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” will be held on Sunday at noon. Set to be held outdoors at Carrboro Town Commons and livestreamed for an online audience, the essay is from Douglass’ 1852 address discussing racial injustice and slavery in the United States.

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