The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Rend Lake and the Benton/West City Chamber of Commerce are gearing up for another fantastic fireworks display at Rend Lake on Saturday, July 4.
Preparations for the event include the temporary closure of the South Marcum and River Road areas at 11:50 p.m. on July 3. Both of these areas will reopen when traffic flow returns to normal following the fireworks display on July 4.
The Corps of Engineers at Rend Lake requests that all automobiles, boats and trailers be removed from the River Road and South Marcum Boat Ramp prior to the closures.
The Rend Lake Fireworks Festival will begin at 4 p.m. on July 4.
Festival planners encourage visitors to come early to enjoy the great food and entertainment. A special kids’ area with air up playgrounds, face painting, temporary tattoos, crazy hair up-do’s and a fire safety smoke house will open at 4 p.m. and remain open till sunset.
The band Sojourn will take to the main stage from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. performing a mixture of classic rock music. From 8 to 9 p.m., the Southern Illinois Concert Band will play a concert of patriotic music and will perform again during the shooting of the fireworks.
A donation of $5 will be collected by the Benton Rotary Club and the Benton Rangler Girls. Donations will be solicited from areas around the lake including Dam West Boat Ramp and Day Use areas, the Rend Lake Marina, Sugar Creek parking lot, the Dedication lot across from the Rend Lake Visitor Center, the South Sandusky Beach and the North Marcum Day Use area.
All money collected from the donations will go to help offset the cost of the fireworks and costs associated with the festival.
