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June is coming to an end this month, and attention has turned to the celebration of our nation's independence.
Festivities kicked off this weekend in Wellsburg with a week-long series of concerts beginning Friday night at the city's Central Park. An all-ages fishing tournament is scheduled for Sunday morning, with a corn hole tournament later in the day. The annual 5K Run-Walk was postponed, apparently over issues getting enough volunteers.
Thursday - Independence Day itself - will feature a variety of events, with a flag-raising ceremony, the Oil Can Derby and the community's parade.
Chester will have a day-long celebration on July 4, including its own 5K race, a car show organized by the Chester Lions Club, the annual duck race on Carolina Avenue, the parade in the afternoon and more.
Weirton's festivities are going to be focused on the Friday and Saturday after the holiday. The Wheeling Symphony Orchestra has, once again, included Weirton in its annual tour with an appearance at the Weirton Event Center Friday night. Gates will be open at 6 p.m., as with every other concert organized by the Top of West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau, with the symphony beginning its performance at 8 p.m.
The show will be followed by a fireworks display provided by the City of Weirton, which will be set off behind Municipal Plaza and will be visible to anyone at the Event Center and various parts of the city's downtown.
Weirton's Independence Day Parade, organized by the Weirton Board of Parks and Recreation, is scheduled for 10 a.m. July 6, traveling along Main Street from Virginia Avenue to Marland Heights Road.
Of course, we can't forget all of the fireworks displays planned by communities up and down the Ohio River.
I know there are people who have issues with festivities not actually taking place on July 4 itself. Some of it is a scheduling issue. The Wheeling Symphony, for example, always has its show in Wheeling on the actual holiday, so Weirton's concert often is held either before or after. The city's parade sometimes is on the day, and sometimes is not. Wellsburg provides a variety of activities on July 4, but also likes to have other celebrations leading up to the holiday. Chester always sets all of its events on the holiday.
Then, there are some communities that have no formal festivities.
But is the day of community events forgetting the true spirit of the holiday itself.
Independence Day is a commemoration of the ratification by the Second Continental Congress of the Declaration of Independence. Through this document, the Founding Fathers announced the Thirteen Colonies were no longer subject to the rule of Great Britain. However, the Congress actually voted to approve the independence of the colonies on July 2 through the Lee Resolution, with the Declaration approved two days later. Some historians also debate whether it was fully signed on July 4, or if some members put their names on the document up to a month later.
Whatever the day, this is a time to celebrate the freedom of those initial states which formed our nation, with the people opting to take their future into their own hands.
It's not about who has the bigger festivities. It's not about which political party (none of which existed at the time) is better or more patriotic.
This is a time to remember the bravery and sacrifice of those who gathered the support of their people, knowing the potential consequences of their actions, and still made the choice, hoping it would chart a new path for the nation and one which would be better for all, not a select few.
(Howell, a resident of Colliers, is managing editor of The Weirton Daily Times, and can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com or followed on Twitter/X @ChowellWDT)