Braintree Ready for Fourth of July Celebration

For over four decades, the town of Braintree has celebrated the Fourth of July with a parade, live entertainment, and a full day of fun. With the holiday to celebrate our nation’s independence around the corner, the town will once again hold their annual holiday festival.

At 11:45 a.m., the parade begins at the Hollis School at 482 Washington St. The parade will go down Washington Street, turning right with Washington Street at South Braintree Square, right onto Franklin Street, and left onto the Braintree High School access road before ending.

After the parade, residents are invited to Braintree High School for a day of fun, games, and live music. The schedule of events is as follows:

• 2 - 10 p.m. - Games and Rides begin by North American Amusements. Food vendors from local groups will be available to satisfy your taste with various delicious fair.
• 2:30 - 4:30 p.m. - A Back to the Future screen accurate DeLorean Time Machine will be on display and available for pictures with proceeds to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
• 2:30 – 9:00 p.m. - Monster Truck Rides: The Webslinger from NJ Monster trucks will be displayed with tickets available to purchase for rides. Log ontowww.njmonstertrucks.com for more info.
• 3:15 - 3:45 p.m. - Irish Step Dancers! New for 2015, Irish step dancers from the Brady, Kenny, O’Brien Academy of Irish Dance will be performing a special July 4th program for the crowd’s delight. The Brady, Kenny and O’Brien Academy of Irish Dance has been performing all over the South Shore and have received numerous awards. Some of their accomplishments include New England Regional Titles, Traditional Set Titles, top placements at the North American Championships, and dancers who have medaled internationally at the All Irelands and the World Irish Dance Championships. For more information log onto www.bradykennyobrien.com.
• 3:45 - 4:45 p.m. - The Memphis Rockabilly Band! Playing songs that range from rockabilly, surf instrumentals, rock & roll, hillbilly to rhythm and blues, Memphis Rockabilly Band is a great dance band and a favorite of swing dancers. As in the past, the band’s repertoire includes original and cover songs drawn from rockabilly, surf instrumentals, rock & roll, hillbilly and rhythm and blues.
• 5 - 6:30 p.m. - The Ward Eights! Another new edition to this year’s program, The Ward Eights will kick off our evening portion of the entertainment program. Hailing from Boston, The Ward Eights have played all over New England and play Funk, soul, rock, hip-hop, pop, jazz and nearly anything else you can think of. With a three-piece horn section, guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and both male and female lead vocalists, they cover a lot of musical ground.
• 7 - 9:30 p.m. - Closing out the evening is The Reminisants. The band has been entertaining audiences of all ages throughout New England since 1973 and feature dance music that appeals to a variety of musical tastes across several generations and have appeared in Braintree in the past and will rock the night away with your favorite music from the 50’s to today.
• 9:30 p.m. - Salute to our soldiers program will honor our returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan.
• 9:45 p.m. - Raffle prize drawings

At 10 p.m., a brand new fireworks display will begin. Event organizers are promising the biggest fireworks spectacular in the 42-year history of the event.

The rain date is Sunday, June 28, 6-10 p.m. with DJ music and kids games starting at 6 p.m. with the fireworks at 10 p.m.

Event information and photo were provided by the Braintree 4th of July Committee.