AROUND CHAPIN AND IRMO

Fireworks, fun, and Independence Day celebrations will be held all over the nation, and Chapin and Irmo residents have many choices on how to celebrate.  

However, our Independence day started with Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Congress in a hot, stuffy room in Virginia. Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence with input from Congress. The document can be read at varsitytutors.com. If you have never heard the Declaration of Independence read aloud, come to the 60th nnual Peach Festival on July 4th in Gilbert. Rob Sanders of iHeartMedia will read it on the main stage of the Gilbert Community Park.  Peach tea, peach cobbler, beauty contests, car shows, and a parade will help celebrate our nation’s independence.  

Get your boat and ride to Dreher Island Park or Spence Island for the 30th Annual Fireworks Show at Lake Murray. The fireworks begin at 9:15 p.m. The show will be 30 minutes long this year, and spectators will be able to tune in on B106.7 and Classic Hits 98.5 for synced music.  

The 4th of July  Boat Parade is June 30 at noon. It starts at Bomb Island. The boats will head towards the Lake Murray Dam and will pass by the Lexington and Irmo parks located at the dam. If you want to register your boat, it is free and open until June 29. Call 781-5940 or visit Lakemurraycountry.com for details.

The Star Spangled Symphonic Salute on July 3, at 6 p.m.  in Saluda Shoals Park is the place to go to celebrate Independence Day. Food trucks will sell pastry and ice cream, and there will be lawn games. There is a  $5 parking fee to get in the park.