{"id":739846,"date":"2026-07-02T23:18:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T23:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/739846\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T23:18:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T23:18:08","slug":"chicago-area-towns-prepare-celebrations-for-united-states-of-americas-250th-birthday-fourth-of-july-independence-day-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/739846\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago-area towns prepare celebrations for United States of America’s 250th birthday, Fourth of July, Independence Day Saturday"},"content":{"rendered":"

GURNEE, Ill. (WLS) — As the nation prepares to mark its 250th birthday Saturday, communities across the Chicago area are hosting celebrations and tributes, including events in Gurnee and McHenry.<\/p>\n

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24\/7. Click here to watch<\/a><\/p>\n

In Gurnee, organizers launched the village’s first Fourth of July celebration at a park that typically hosts Gurnee Days festivities in August. This year, however, village leaders chose to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary with a day of entertainment, family activities and food trucks.<\/p>\n

The Gurnee Symphony Orchestra participated in preparations ahead of the event, tuning instruments and conducting a sound check before gates opened.<\/p>\n

“We wanted to put out take on America’s 250th,” said Mike Szpylman, executive director.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in McHenry, organizers were preparing a baseball-themed celebration at the McHenry Outdoor Theater. The theater is partnering with Major League Baseball and is one of four theaters in the country selected to participate in the event.<\/p>\n

“It’s very cool to have this event for MLB in our little community,” said Scott Dehn of the McHenry Outdoor Theater.<\/p>\n

RELATED | Disney Celebrates America: What to expect on July 3 and 4 as ABC marks America’s 250th anniversary<\/a><\/p>\n

The event will feature a stage and special screen for a family baseball movie before nightfall, along with baseball-related family activities. The theater’s concession stand will offer vintage snacks.<\/p>\n

Admission is free, but tickets sold out in about 10 minutes. While the theater can typically accommodate up to 700 vehicles, attendance is being limited to 250 cars to make room for a fireworks display planned for the end of the evening.<\/p>\n

The event marks the first time Major League Baseball has organized a celebration of this kind. Dehn said organizers are already planning for next year.<\/p>\n

“I’m thrilled. It combines my two passions,” Dehn said.<\/p>\n

Both the McHenry and Gurnee celebrations are one-day events. In Gurnee, the band Melencouger is scheduled to headline the entertainment lineup before a fireworks show concludes the festivities.<\/p>\n

Disney and ABC are also planning nationwide programming tied to the nation’s 250th birthday celebration. Coverage begins Friday evening with events that include live reports from the Statue of Liberty. Additional programming Saturday will feature parades, celebrations, historical specials, coverage of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, sports-focused programs and live music events.<\/p>\n

ABC7 Chicago will also host a live audience event Friday night at Harry Caray’s at Navy Pier as part of the national celebration. Attendees may have an opportunity to be seen during a national broadcast marking America’s 250th birthday.<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2026 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GURNEE, Ill. (WLS) — As the nation prepares to mark its 250th birthday Saturday, communities across the Chicago…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":739847,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[318097,23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-739846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-318097","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=739846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/739847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=739846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=739846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=739846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}