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Special to the Daily Journal/Messenger

Numerous churches and residents raise money for the Salem Fourth of July festival. Everything is free, including the food, drinks and entertainment.

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Special to the Daily Journal/Messenger

This young resident enjoys her time at a previous Fourth of July Celebration in downtown Salem. This year, the entertainment starts at 6 p.m., following a welcome address from Mayor Diane Head.

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Special to the Daily Journal/Messenger

Clemson Fest kicks off today, Friday, at 5:30 p.m. on the Foothills YMCA property. With plenty of games, music and food, attendees always have fun as they await the spectacular fireworks show.

It’s time to celebrate the Fourth of July again.

It’s the ultimate summer bash and the peak of summer fun.

It’s the day we celebrate our independence.

While 56 men signed the Declaration of Independence with relentless opposition from the British, 233 years later we as a nation are able to come together and enjoy our freedom.

It’s a day and night dedicated to giving thanks for something that’s never been free.

In and around Oconee, community members will have their pick of the best when it comes to celebrating the holiday. Starting on Friday and running through Saturday night, no one should be sitting at home wondering what they could be out doing for fun.

Clemson Fest

Things kick off at 5:30 p.m. on Friday (tonight) at the Foothills YMCA beach area.

Each carload costs $10 and festival officials ask that no outside coolers or pets be brought into the gates.

The headlining band, “Part Time Party Time” will be taking the stage around 7 p.m. while games, crafts and plenty of food vendors will be entertaining the masses until then.

There will be four large inflatable bouncies ready for the young ones to let loose on. Once the car admission is paid, turns on the bouncies are free all night.

When it gets good and dark, one of the area’s best fireworks displays will be lighting up the skies between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m. Residents all around Clemson line the waters of Lake Hartwell to catch a glimpse of the bright festival finale.

And what’s a Fourth of July festival without funnel cakes and ice cream? Clemson Fest will have both, along with hot dogs, corn dogs, Chic-fil-A and much more.

The Mountain Rest Hillbilly Festival

Head on over bright and early and start the fun at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

Located near the intersection of Hwy 28 and 107 at 120 Vernon Mill Road, all parking and admission is free.

With blue grass music filling the air all day, the Hillbilly Fest will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. There won’t be any fireworks because the festival ends at 3 p.m., there will be plenty of fun activities.

Try your hand at soap making or blacksmithing or moonshine stilling. There will be numerous vendors with homemade crafts and plenty of children’s activities. The greasy pig chase draws a crowd and the greased pole climb, sack races, tug of war and egg toss will keep the kids entertained for hours.

Old-fashioned barbecue will be slow cooked over hickory by the fire department and Boy Scouts while grilled chicken and hot dogs will be available for sale.

Cloggers and fiddlers will be on stage as well, so bring your lawn chair!

Salem’s Fourth of July Celebration

Crowds will gather at 6 p.m. in the downtown vicinity. Because of generous donations by community members, businesses and churches, everything will be free. The food, the drinks the entertainment … all free.

“It was so cute to see the looks on the children’s faces last year,” said Marti Jennings. “They couldn’t quite grasp that it was all free. This is so special to us because it’s a prime example of how great a community we have in Salem. We want everyone to come and enjoy themselves on Saturday.”

The music ranges from pop rock and southern gospel to blue grass.

Mayor Diane Head will be on hand to greet and welcome the masses and of course, a fireworks display will bring the night to a close.

“We’ve been told that our fireworks easily rival those of Clemson,” Jennings said. “We are proud of that.”

The Seneca Fourth of July Festival

This much-anticipated, lively event will begin at 3 p.m. at the Gignilliat Field and is expected to bring around 10,000 people in by the end of the day.

Inflatables for the kids and a wall of water will be on hand to entertain and cool them off! A multitude of food vendors will be dishing out a variety of delicious goodies.

Musical entertainment will take the stage at 5 p.m. and play until the huge fireworks display. This year’s talent includes Chairman of the Board, the Fabulous Shades and September Sky.

The sparks will fly as the fabulous fireworks display caps off Seneca’s celebration of America’s 233rd birthday!

“A Complete History of America Abridged” — Liberty

“A Complete History of America Abridged” will be showing downtown at 7 p.m. on Friday and 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Dave Holland, brainchild behind the performance, urges the public to come visit this vaudeville show that lasts around 90 minutes and portrays the rich history of America.