KJAS lights up Jasper with fireworks Saturday night at Sandy Creek Park

Jasper's Independence Day Celebration, sponsored by KJAS and friends, will be held June 30 at Sandy Creek Park in Jasper, on Marvin Hancock Drive, from 4 - 10 p.m.

Local charities and food vendors will sell cotton candy, barbeque, hamburgers, funnel cakes and more. Activities include a watermelon-eating contest for all ages and a moonwalk and slide.

Information booths will be set up for the Girl Scouts, the United States Marine Corps and Keep Jasper Beautiful.

To help fund the event KJAS will sell glow toys for the kids and chances to win a large fireworks package, worth over $1,000 and two more packages worth $200 each.

There will also be drawings for free tickets to Schlitterbahn and Blue Bayou Water Parks.

Starting at 5 p.m. the "Grateful Geezers Band," of Houston, will play tunes from the 60's, 70's, Blues and Zydeco, and Miss Teen Jasper, Megan Jordan will sing.

The 3-A Championship Jasper Bulldog Baseball Team, the Bulldog Football Team and Miss Fall Fest Michelle Purdue, will be in the dunking booth.

At 7 p.m., Swamp Smith and Billy Gorthreaux, from Swamp Smith International Airport in DeRidder, L.A., will fly by in formation in two "War Bird" Stearmans airplanes.

At 8:30 p.m., Mayor David Barber will greet the crowd and then Ron Fosage will pray, followed by he United States Marine Corps Color Guard with a flag presentation. Miss Jasper, Jessica Alvis, will sing the National Anthem.

The fireworks presentation begins at 9 p.m. by Charlie Brown's, A&M Pyrotechnics and produced by Pyrotechnician Craig George of Campti, L.A.

The Jasper City Police Department and the Emergency Corps will direct parking in the center of Marvin Hancock Drive until 8:45 p.m., after which Marvin Hancock Drive will be closed.