Collierville is not easing into the Semiquincentennial. The town is rolling out a full week of 250th-anniversary festivities that wrap up with its big Independence Day celebration Thursday night at H.W. Cox Park, complete with live music, dozens of food trucks, a veterans tribute and an 18-minute fireworks grand finale around 9:30 p.m. Town offices will be closed Friday for the holiday, and the Burch Library is tweaking its hours for the long weekend.
What to expect at Cox Park
H.W. Cox Park opens to the public at 6 p.m. with food vendors ready to go, live entertainment starts at 7 p.m., and the fireworks grand finale is set for roughly 9:30 p.m., according to the Town of Collierville. The lineup features Memphis native Alexis Grace, high-energy party band Party Planet and a commemorative performance by the TN Mass Choir, along with a special tribute honoring military service members.
The town notes there is no public parking inside Cox Park, with the exception of designated handicapped parking. Visitors are urged to arrive early, respect nearby neighborhoods and avoid blocking driveways or Powell Road.
Hands-on history at the Burch Library
On Monday, the Lucius E. and Elsie C. Burch Jr. Library hosted a hands-on "Patriot Chest and Signing the Declaration" program where members of the Daughters of the American Revolution displayed artifacts and invited attendees to sign a replica Declaration of Independence with a quill, according to the Collierville Burch Library. Participants who joined in the activity could take home a keepsake scroll and quill as a souvenir of their brush with colonial history.
Holiday hours, town services and a quick schedule note
The Collierville Burch Library will close early at 6 p.m. on Thursday, remain open normal hours on Friday and be closed Saturday for Independence Day, according to the town's holiday-hours notice. The full schedule is posted under Collierville's holiday hours.
The town's Monday Minute post on Facebook also notes that town offices will be closed Friday and that trash, recycling and yard-waste collections will run on their regular schedule for the week of June 29 through July 3. The same post links to a patriotic porch-tour map and other local tidbits for those who want to lean all the way into the red, white and blue. Town of Collierville on Facebook
How to make the night easier
Veteran Cox Park-goers know the drill: bring water, chairs and a healthy dose of patience. The Independence Day celebration routinely draws large crowds, and food-vendor lines can stretch out as the evening goes on. If you are chasing a prime fireworks view, plan to arrive well before the music starts and expect heavy outbound traffic once the last shell bursts.
If severe weather threatens the show, the town has already circled Friday as the rain date, so the fireworks should still find their way to the Collierville sky one way or another.
