City to celebrate July 4th at riverfront park

The 4th of July is a big deal in Midtown, with neighborhoods holding parades and picnics and families breaking out the grills and brews.

If you’re looking for a big fireworks show to go along with this, consider the city’s family-style Independence Day celebration at Richard L. Berkley Riverfront Park on Thursday, July 4, beginning at 4 p.m.

According to the city, the festival will feature live, local music on two stages, food, cold drinks and ice cream, a giant kids’ play area and a custom fireworks show by the 120-year-old Zambelli Fireworks company, one of the largest pyrotechnic firms in the world. KC RiverFest’s entertainment lineup includes KOKOMO, 4 Fried Chickens and a Coke, Las Estrellas, Funk Syndicate, and finalist contestants from the local Pitch Music Showcase, including Antennas Up, David George Band, 77 Jefferson, Shades of Jade and more.

Details

• visit the website
• Richard L. Berkley Riverfront Park on Thursday, July 4, beginning at 4 p.m.
• Admission to the festival is $5, and children younger than 12 get in free. Festival-goers are encouraged to take blankets and lawn chairs, but no coolers, glass or outside food or beverages will be permitted.
• There will be free admittance to the festival from 4 to 5 p.m. The National Airline History Museum will present a fly over from a vintage World War II-era PV-2 Harpoon aircraft at about 5:15 p.m., and Riverfest’s fireworks extravaganza – set against a backdrop of the Mighty Missouri River and the downtown skyline – will get underway at dark (or around 10 p.m.).
• KC Riverfest is presented by the City of Kansas City, Mo., and supported by the Kansas City Port Authority, the City’s Neighborhood Tourist Development Fund, Friends of the River – Kansas City and Burns & McDonnell.