- Pocatello plans its biggest Independence Day celebration for America's 250th anniversary.
- The event features a parade, car show and Idaho State Civic Symphony performance.
- Fireworks will be "insane," with multiple viewing spots at Bannock County Events Complex.
POCATELLO – To commemorate America's 250th anniversary, organizers in Pocatello plan to hold the biggest Independence Day celebration it's ever held.
The celebration, which will be held on the Fourth of July, will feature much of the same food and entertainment as in years previous, but a local prestigious group will perform for its first time ever, and the county's fireworks dealer has told leadership he plans to "just make (the show) insane."
"We're adding a lot more this year. It's (going to be) something to see for sure," said Scott Crowther, Bannock County Events Complex director.
Not only that, but Pocatello's Fourth of July parade already has more floats entered than it did last year. Stephanie Palagi, president of Historic Downtown Pocatello, expects them to be "pretty decked out."
"It's always a patriotic parade, (but) I think you're going to see a lot of 250s, a lot of happy birthdays, a lot of real Americana," Palagi said.
The parade will take place in downtown Pocatello, starting at 9:30 a.m., with the route closed at 8 a.m. Historic Downtown Pocatello asks people traveling through the area or attending the parade to be patient and not to park along the parade route, as it creates a safety issue.
Palagi said the public is encouraged to come early to the Portneuf Valley Farmers Market to find their spot.
"And then we ask folks to please be patient," Palagi said. "When the parade is over, don't plan on zipping down Main Street. Plan to stay, take your time to get home. … Let's be patient, so that no one gets hurt."
Entries in the parade are still accepted until July 3. With it already at 85 entries, which is one more than it had last year, Palagi said the parade will be "huge."
Idaho Central Credit Union is sponsoring the parade, and Laura Smith, vice president of Public Relations and Government Affairs, says in a written statement that the credit union is "excited to help celebrate this incredible milestone."
"America's 250th birthday and Pocatello's Independence Day Parade bring our community together in a very meaningful way. At ICCU, we're proud to support traditions that celebrate our freedoms and create lasting memories for families," Smith said.
Later in the afternoon, the fair will take place at the Bannock County Events Complex. The complex is a huge space, with a horse track arena, walking paths, the Portneuf Wellness Complex and more. It's located at 10588 Fairground Dr.
"We have 400-plus acres of dedicated county space," Crowther said.
Crowther said that this year, there will be over thirty vendors participating in the festivities, with them setting up at around "lunchtime," in the main grassy area of the Wellness Complex. Not only will there be food to eat, but there will also be games to play, shirts and flags to buy and even more.
"There's everything you can think of," Crowther said.
From 1 p.m to 3 p.m., there will be a car show in partnership with Poky Cars & Coffee, which Crowther said hosts a wide variety of vehicles.
"Every year the car show is just getting bigger and bigger, and we've got just some really, really cool cars that are going to be there this year as well," Crowther said.
On the stage of the Portneuf Wellness Complex Amphitheatre at 6:30 p.m., for the first time ever, the Idaho State Civic Symphony will perform at the celebration. Crowther said this will be a special America 250 performance and it will be free to the public.
"It's going to be a really cool opportunity for people to come to the amphitheater and see the symphony," Crowther said.
Starting at 6 p.m. on the stage by the main grass area, there will also be live performances from a variety of local musicians.
"And then that leads us into our main fireworks display," Crowther said.
Crowther said that he's been told that this fireworks show will be something special.
"When he tells me he's got something special planned for this year, I take that at face value, because he does such a great job," Crowther said.
And there are multiple places in the event center for people to watch the show.
"We have people watching from the RV park, and people watching from the football fields and people watching from the lawn over by the amphitheater. I mean, it's just incredible," Crowther said.
The way Crowther sees it, there's not a bad option.
"It's just an incredible place, not a bad seat in the house," Crowther said.
