Rural Iowa celebrates Independence

Several Iowa and Benton County towns will celebrate Independence Day July 3 and 4 with food, music, parades and fireworks.

Marengo

Marengo celebrates Independence Day a day early every year. The July 3 celebration begins this year with a 5K run and walk at 7:30 a.m. on the north side of the Marengo square.

Race day registration begins at 6:30 a.m.

The Marengo Iowa Rotary Club will host a pancake breakfast at 7:30 a.m. at Iowa Valley High School, 359 E. Hilton St. in Marengo. The price is $10.

A horseshoe tournament begins at 9:45 a.m. on the northeast corner of the square. Pre-registration is required.

A car show will take place from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Ambies Bar, will host a bags tournament at noon on Washington Street on the square.

Friends of the Marengo Public Library hosts a mini-golf challenge at the Marengo Public Library. The nine-hole course in the library is open to all ages from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Food vendors will be on the Marengo square from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Little Miss and Mister will be crowned during a 2 p.m. competition at the bandstand. Registration begins at 1:30 p.m.

Leanne’s School of dance will perform from 2:45-3:30 p.m. at the bandstand on the square.

Children’s activities scheduled for 1-5 p.m. on Marengo Avenue include a rock wall, a dunk tank, an obstacle course, a slide, a foam cannon and face painting. Registration for the pedal pull begins at 1 p.m.

A $15 wristband gives unlimited access to the activities.

Airwaves will play classic rock music at the bandstand from 6:30-9:30 p.m., and a Rolle Bolle tournament is scheduled for 7 p.m. on the northeast corner of the square. No pre-registration is required.

A fireworks display will take place at Gateway Park, north of the square, after dark.

Grind accompanies a street dance from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. in front of J.A. Casa Magnolia. Grind is a 1980s rock tribute band. The dance is free.

Williamsburg

The Williamsburg Trail Firecracker 5K is set for 7:30 a.m. July 4. Money raised from the event will help construct Phase 2 of the trail.

Just Automotive will host a July 4 celebration from noon to 4 p.m. at 303 W. Welsh St. with balloon artists, face painting, bouncy houses and a pedal pull.

Amana

Amana’s Fourth of July in the Park begins at 8 a.m. with the famous Amana Church Youth Group breakfast. A donation will buy breakfast and help the youth group pay for its mission trip to Pine Ride Reservation Aug. 2.

A church service will follow at 10 a.m.

A baseball game is scheduled for 2 p.m., and at 4:30 p.m. people can begin gathering for a potluck dinner with brats and hot dogs donated by Amana Family Practice and cooked by the local “grill guys.”

Dinner will be served at 5 p.m.

A dance begins at 6 p.m. with live music from Dogs on Skis. Fireworks over Lily Lake begin after dusk. To contribute to the Community Fireworks Fund, mail donations to Amana Community Fireworks, P.O. Box 11, Amana, IA 52203.

Belle Plaine

Fire Box on Main in Belle Plaine will host a street dance July 3 to kick of the July 4 holiday.

Rough Sketch will play for the dance from 8 p.m. to midnight.

The July 3 car show and the July 4 celebration will take place in Franklin Park, at 10th Avenue and 11th Street.

The car show takes place from 4-8 p.m. July 3, with trophies announced at 7:30 p.m.

Chicken Chip Bingo is set for 4-7 p.m., a bags tournament for 5-8 p.m. and a petting zoo for 4-7 p.m. July 3.

Belle Plaine Athletic Boosters will host the Booster Bolt 5K and 1-mile walk and run July 4. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m.; the races begin at 8 a.m. at the park.

Maddox Purk, the son of Donnie and Sarah Purk, is the Grand Marshal for the 2025 Fourth of July parade, which begins at 10 a.m. on Main Street.

Midway games will be set up from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and a vendor fair from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Belle Plaine music boosters will conduct Bingo from 12:30-3 p.m., and a Rolle Bolle tournament begins at 1 p.m.

Belle Plaine High School FFA will sponsors a kiddie tractor pull at the tennis courts. Registration begins at 12:30 p.m.

Belle Plaine Fire Department will conduct cow chip Bingo at 4 p.m.

New this year in Belle Plaine are Spotlight Studios performances beginning at noon on the baseball field; a petting zoo, sponsored by Cheshire Moon Farms, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; caricatures. sponsored by Divine Arcana Tattoos, form 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and a tug-of-war from 2-4 p.m., sponsored by Belle Plaine softball.

The tug-of-war costs $20 per team. Contact Morgan Goslin at 541-980-4687 to register.

A fireworks display will take place at the Park after dark.