CLINTON — Central Maine’s long-running Independence Day celebration is returning to Clinton on Thursday with an expected turnout of 25,000 to 30,000 attendees.

Festivities are scheduled to kick off with a 10 a.m. parade that begins across from the Tradewinds Market on Hinckley Street. The parade will last around two hours and end at Clinton Elementary School.

The fairgrounds open at 11 a.m., where throughout the day attendees can enjoy several attractions such as live music, children’s activities, police demonstrations and a craft show with over 30 vendors.

The day will conclude at 9:20 p.m. with a fireworks show. More information on the event can be found on the Central Maine 4th of July Celebration Facebook page. 

The group wrote on its Facebook page Tuesday that the planned street dance will be moved to the front of the Clinton fairgrounds because of “circumstances beyond our control and safety concerns.” Organizers wrote on the page that there still would be live bands and “so much fun you won’t believe it!” and “a few surprises!”

Justin Fletcher, dressed as Spider-Man, greets children on July 4, 2018, along the parade route during the Central Maine 4th of July parade in Clinton. Morning Sentinel file photo Michael G. Seamans

Kevin Douglas, chairman of the Central Maine Fourth of July Celebration, said the fireworks show is still the largest of its kind in central Maine. This Thursday will be the third year since the celebration moved from its longtime home in Winslow.

For 26 years the town of Winslow hosted the event — then called the Winslow Family Fourth of July Celebration — but attendance grew too large in recent years for Fort Halifax Park to handle safely and organizers struggled to pay bills owed to the town for police coverage. Festival organizers and town officials clashed over a solution, and disagreements between the board and officials resulted in the celebration relocating from Winslow in 2016 to the Clinton Fairgrounds under the new name, the “Central Maine 4th of July: the Great American Celebration.”

Even today, there remain disagreements about the $13,283 in unpaid funds the celebration’s planning committee still owes the town of Winslow.

Winslow Town Manager Mike Heavener said he isn’t holding his breath about that money ever being repaid and said that the committee has shown no indication that they’re going to pay off their debt.

However, according to Douglas, the dilemma depends on which side you listen to.

“This is a totally different event now,” Douglas said. “One side says there’s money owed; another says there isn’t.”

Earlier this year, Winslow town councilors discussed suggestions by some residents to bring a Fourth of July parade back to Winslow, but proponents of the idea couldn’t find a nonprofit to help sponsor a parade and pay for needed insurance costs.

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