Tooele City Mayor Patrick Dunlavy has a message for residents: Save the gas and stay home for the Fourth of July this year.

The city is planning its biggest Fourth of July celebration ever this year, which will be topped off by the return of fireworks to the city after a nearly decade-long absence.

Tooele’s fireworks display will be held on Saturday, July 5, after the Ty Herndon concert. Organizers say that date was chosen to avoid coinciding with the county’s fireworks display planned for Deseret Peak on the Fourth of July.

The city will kick off its celebration on Monday, June 30, with the 23rd Army National Guard Band playing patriotic music at the Tooele City swimming pool park on 200 W. Vine St. at 7 p.m. The army band is a 53-member band from Draper.

Tuesday, July 1, will feature a family movie also at the Tooele City swimming pool park. The city can not disclose the title of the movie in advance in accordance with the terms of the licensing agency, but Kathy Bell, Tooele City Parks and Recreation director promises it will be a family show. Food vendors including taco carts and hamburger stands will be on hand as well.

On Wednesday, July 2, there will be karaoke in the park. At 3 p.m. there will be open-microphone karaoke followed by a karaoke contest with cash prizes at 6 p.m.

July 3 will bring performances from local bands and a Corvette car show at Tooele City Park. Starting at 5:20 p.m. the bands Flaming Priest, Faces West, Kawz, Ace High, and Liberty Cross will play.

On the Fourth of July, things start out early with the Chamber of Commerce breakfast at Veterans Memorial Park on the corner of Main and Vine streets. They will be serving ham, eggs, hashbrowns and pancakes. Tickets for the breakfast are $5 for adults or $3 for children ages 10 to 3, children under 3 are free. The breakfast is a 20 year tradition for the chamber and is sponsored by local businesses.

A 5K run sponsored by the Tooele Kiwanis Club will start at 8:30 a.m. For details see the entry form at www.tooelecity.org.

Around 9 a.m. there will be a flyover by the Jets from Hill Air Force Base. At 9 a.m. the Tooele City Fourth of July Parade will start. This year the parade will feature 150 entries — 50 more than last year.

Grand marshall for the parade will be Walter Whickham of the Bit and Spur Riding Club, and the honorary grand marshall will be Father Matthew Wixted, retiring priest of St. Marguerite’s Parish.

In the swimming pool park following the parade there will be children’s games such as a ring toss and fish ponds with blow-up jumping houses along with a variety of other activities including a classic car show, a petting zoo by Tooele FFA, a mechanical bull, Boggles the clown tying balloon animals, bingo by the Eagles Lodge in the old pavilion, a dunking booth and a car smash. The Pratt Aquatic Center will also be open for the Fourth of July.

Entertainment will run in the park from 11 a.m. until 6:00 p.m featuring Nash Stewart singing, Jazzing It dancers, Flashback 60’s band, Ace High band, In-step dance group, Cast and Crew performers, the Old Man Garage band, Faces West band, and Steve Normand, a singer from the band Flaming Priest.

The Deseret Peak Complex will host a fireworks show at 10 p.m. on the evening of July 4.

The week wraps up with a concert by Ty Herndon at the Tooele High School football field at 8 p.m. on July 5. Tickets are $5 per person and are available from City Hall or from Macey’s Food and Drug.

The grand finale will be a fireworks show at 10 p.m. on the football field following the concert.

tgillie@tooeletranscript.com