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July 4th Events & Traffic along the Riverfront

By Anna Yee
July 3, 2011 Updated Jul 4, 2011 at 7:00 PM CDT

The Independence Day festivities will begin this Friday with various concerts throughout the weekend at the Landing on the Peoria Riverfront, including performances by:

Friday, 8:00 pm: World Class Noise 
Saturday, 6:30 pm: Charlie Daniels Band
Sunday, 8:00 pm: Jammsammich
(Gates open 30 minutes prior).

Sunday also includes the "Third of July Fireworks Spectacular" at Glen Oak Park. Events start at 4:00 p.m., with fireworks beginning at dusk (around 9:00 pm). Admission is free.

And on Monday, July 4th, the Methodist Red, White and Boom sky show will start at 9:30 pm. on the riverfront. Admission is free, but parking may be limited.

"Swimming... We've got beach volleyball in a climate-controlled arena... We're going to have 'totally Tots' which means we'll have a toddler area," said Carl Cannon, of E.L.I.T.E. Youth Outreach. "We'll have Exer-games for the middle to high school aged youth, and most importantly we're family friendly, so we'll have a Julie K concert for the kids."

For $30 a spot, you can park at the Peoria RiverPlex. The fee includes entertainment beginning at 5:00 p.m., hosted by Peoria Park District's E.L.I.T.E. Youth Outreach.

If you're watching the fireworks on the other side of the River, expect major traffic delays.

Road construction in East Peoria is limiting traffic flow Monday evening, with both West Washington and Camp Streets closing off at 9 p.m.

After the fireworks, exiting traffic will be divided between Walmart and Lowes.

Anyone parked on the Walmart side will be directed towards River Road, turning right onto the Bob Michael Bridge or left onto Washington towards Interstate 74.

For those on the Lowes' side, police will move traffic along Riverside Drive towards Camp Street, heading east.

For more information on these events, head to http://www.redwhiteandboom.us/index.html or http://www.peoriaparks.org/.

 

 

 

"We're going to do the best we can," said Chief Ed Papis, of the East Peoria Police Department. "We just encourage folks who come down there to enjoy the fireworks to be patient, to be very, very patient, because it's going to take a while to get those cars out of there."

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