For the first time in a decade, fireworks will light up the night sky at Minch Park in Parkesburg on Friday, July 3, as part of Parkesburg's celebration of America's 250th anniversary.

Parkesburg's massive five-day celebration of the country's birthday will commence on Wednesday, July 1, and run through Sunday, July 5, at the park, 111 West St., Parkesburg.

A carnival, provided by Houghton Enterprises of Cochranville, will anchor the event, running from Wednesday to Saturday. Organizers described the carnival as having "all the big rides." It will run from 6 to 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before a closing schedule of 3 to 10 p.m. on Saturday.

"Houghton would bring the carnival to town every year," said organizer Cassandra Wyatt, speaking of Parkesburg's history. "Then that relationship broke up all of a sudden. ... So this was huge for us; we really wanted to bring (the carnival) back."

While Wednesday and Thursday's schedules only consist of the carnival, Friday will bring a DJ providing music and a beer garden that will run from approximately 6 to 9:15 p.m. At the conclusion of the evening, fireworks will be launched into the sky above Minch Park.

"Fireworks are huge for us, because we have not had fireworks in Parkesburg for about 10 or 12 years," Wyatt said.

Wyatt noted the increased prices of fireworks for the weekend of the Fourth of July, saying that organizers did everything they could to get fireworks on Saturday but could not make it feasible.

A car show will kick off Saturday morning, inspired by the turnout at a recent show at Dynamic Raceworks, one of the sponsors of the Parkesburg 250 event. Those interested are asked to sign up via the Google Form found on the event's Facebook page, the "Parkesburg 250" group.

Also on Saturday, there will be various vendors and food trucks up until the carnival opens at 3 p.m. There will also be entertainment onstage, such as a reading of the Declaration of Independence and several live bands.

Sunday will bring a drum and fife corps in the morning, followed by a reading of Parkesburg history by John Hagan, mayor of Parkesburg. Food trucks, vendors and the beer garden will return from Saturday.

The main event of the day and the closing part of the event will be historically oriented baseball games, contested between Christiana Fire Company and Keystone Fire Company. The games will be modeled after the Parkesburg Iron Company's baseball team that called Minch Park home in the 1920s. The site has hosted legendary players such as Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Casey Stengel.

The Parkesburg 250 event has been in planning since the fall of 2025. Various fundraising events have been held since then, such as bingo games and pancake breakfasts at Parkesburg VFW Post 4480 in February and March.

The event's committee has representatives from all over town: the Parkesburg Historical Society, Parkesburg Historical Commission, Parkesburg Lions Club, Parkesburg Free Library, Parkesburg Action Committee (PAC), Parkesburg Parks & Recreation, Parkesburg VFW and the Parkesburg Special Events Committee, along with local businesses, including Dynamic Raceworks, Evolved Tinting Solutions, Two Dogs Auto & Cycle and the Grocery Outlet.

"It's great that people have been so excited for this," Wyatt said. "We've hit the ground running looking for sponsors, so it's only happened because we've all worked together."