There are five-kilometer races, 10-kilometer races, art festivals, local bands, picnics, food booths, baseball games and variety shows.

Each town is calling its celebration the old-fashioned kind. There will be cotton candy, hot dogs, lemonade, checkered tablecloths, naps in the shade and brass bands.

Several towns are holding parades in the morning. (ee list on B2.) Many fire departments plan to take the edge off the afternoon heat with water fights.

Then there are the final three days of America's Freedom Festival in Provo. They begin Saturday morning with 30 hot-air balloons rising over Provo skies.

The "Stadium of Fire" will blaze over Cougar Stadium as Rich Little, Mary Hart and Emmanuel Lewis kick off an entertainment extravaganza.

Through the weekend, downtown merchants will hold a sale, while the Freedom Festival Carnival carries on in the Provo High School parking lot.

Monday, there will be an all-day Picnic in the Park at Provo's Kiwanis park.

If you are spending the Fourth in Salt Lake County, wait until the sun dips behind the Oquirrhs and you will see the skies sparkle and explode from 12 locations.