Mokena To Celebrate July 4 With Fireworks, Concert, Parade

MOKENA, IL — Mokena residents will again have the opportunity to celebrate Independence Day with a pair of events that will be spread out over three days.

The village’s Independence Day fireworks will be held at dusk on July 2 at Main Park. The village was forced to move the fireworks away from the actual July 4 holiday due to the costs associated with producing the 20-minute show.

Village board members approved a $30,000 expenditure to allow Mad Bomber to put on a fireworks show on July 2, village officials said. The village’s historical contract provider for fireworks, Pyrotecnico, is unable to conduct a fireworks display on July 4, which left village officials scrambling to find a new provider.

Mad Bomber, which is based in Crown Point, Ind., was the only fireworks company to reply to the village’s request for bids to keep the fireworks celebration on July 4. However, the company said the show on the actual holiday would cost $50,000, which left village officials leery about trying to keep an Independence Day celebration in place.

Prior to the fireworks show, the Encore Concert Band will perform a free concert on the viewing area stage. That performance will begin at 7 p.m.

The annual Mokena Chamber of Commerce Parade will take place at 10 a.m. on July 4.

The parade route begins at LaPorte Road and will head west to Wolf Road heading north, and ends at Granite Drive. This year's parade theme is "Ask not what your community can do for you, but what you can do for your community. Honor your dedicated volunteers”, organizers said.