Freestyle Music Park will host a July 4th Celebration this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The Park's Independence Day Celebration will include the special admission price of four tickets for $17.76 if purchased before 4 p.m. on Saturday. In addition, all active and retired military, along with their family members, will be admitted free of charge with valid military identification. Also in celebration of the military, patriotic paratroopers will arrive in the park via air at 3 p.m. Eating contests for children and adults, food specials and the Myrtle Beach area's largest fireworks show will complete the Park's celebration festivities.

The special fireworks show will be an extended 15 minute version of the Park's "Kiss the Sky Rock N' Roll Nighttime Spectacular." In addition to the regular pyrotechnics show, it will include a patriotic themed addition with special fireworks and music. Fireworks will begin at 9:45 p.m. Due to the magnitude of the fireworks presentation, Myrtle Beach International Airport will close airspace during the "Kiss the Sky Rock N' Roll Nighttime Spectacular" that evening.

The special fireworks show will include more than 20,000 individual shots from 55 different shooting positions on more than 110 acres of the Park. In addition, 35 trained and accredited pyrotechnics staff will be on hand to coordinate and monitor the show.

The Park's eating events will consist of a pie eating contest for children under 11 and a hot dog eating contest for adults. Children's contest winners and those who place second will receive stuffed animals as prizes. Adult winners will receive a $50 merchandise voucher, with those who place second receiving a $20 merchandise voucher.

Throughout the day, the Park will offer a picnic for four for $17.76 at the Big Q Smokehouse. The picnic pack, available while supplies last, consists of four Nathan's hot dogs, four Pepsi fountain drinks and a choice of four sides.

"The July 4th holiday is an important holiday to reflect on our nation's history, our freedom and family," said John Stine, director of marketing and sales for Freestyle Music Park. "At Freestyle Music Park, we are proud to be able to celebrate this year's Independence Day by offering guests a great deal on Park admission and also by providing the biggest fireworks spectacular in the Myrtle Beach area. We believe that everyone who has a chance to join us on July 4 will not be disappointed."

Source: Freestyle Music Park

By Heather Gale

Shagging, the Twist, inflatable slides, food, music, fireworks and games all welcomed more than 2,000 residents and visitors to BB&T Coastal Field June 28 for the annual Myrtle Beach Independence Day celebration.

The event's festive, family-oriented atmosphere has attracted thousands of visitors over the years. This year was no different, as families took to the stadium's playing field with lawn chairs and picnic blankets. Kids split time between eating snacks and running about to play with friends.

Among the visitors was Pier-Francesco Mini, a visitor from Italy, who soaked in the atmosphere from his picnic blanket while enjoying his Burger King. Mini was excited to see a great American pastime in this Independence Day celebration.

"This is a very strange thing for me," he said. "In Europe, we don't have such a celebration. We only see it in movies."

Mini said his cousins Laura Smith and Tommaso Mini, both of Myrtle Beach, brought him to the celebration to show him a good time.

"I really like it," he said. "It is an ideal American experience."

Courtesy of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, the following is a listing of the many scheduled Independence Day fireworks displays:

• BROADWAY AT THE BEACH (800-386-4662) - Fireworks 4th of July at 10 p.m., and every Tuesday through Sept. 6 at 10 p.m.
• BAREFOOT LANDING (800-272-2320) - Fireworks over the lake 4th of July at 10:15 p.m. (double the length of Monday fireworks), and every Monday until Aug. 31 at 10:15 p.m.
• 2ND AVENUE PIER (Oceanfront Merchants Association - Jonathan Staton: 843-997-6695) - 4th of July fireworks at 9:30 p.m., and on Wednesdays through Aug. 19 at 9 or 9:15 p.m. Best view from Plyler Park or along oceanfront.
• CONWAY (Conway Chamber of Commerce; 843-248-2273) - Riverfest 2009 - June 27, 3-11 p.m. along the Waccamaw River (fireworks at 9:30 p.m.). No fireworks 4th of July.
• LAKEWOOD CAMPING RESORT (5901 S. Kings Hwy., Myrtle Beach; 877-525-3966) - Beach party starts at 6 p.m. 4th of July - Hay rides and beach games, live music, fire pit on beach, fireworks (10 p.m.)
• BB&T COASTAL FIELD (21st Ave N., Myrtle Beach; 877-918-8499) - Myrtle Beach's Independence Day celebration: Gates open 5 p.m. June 28; the Andrew Thielen Big Band will perform "Greatest Songs from Yesterday and Today" beginning 7:30 p.m., followed by fireworks at approximately 9:15 p.m. 4th of July fireworks after the 7 p.m. game.
• CHERRY GROVE PIER (3500 N. Ocean Blvd., North Myrtle Beach; 843-249-1625) - 4th of July fireworks at 9:30 p.m.
• THE MARKET COMMON (Valor Memorial Garden; 843-839-3500) - Independence Day Celebration includes Jewelry Art in the Park (12-6 p.m.); street performers around The Market Common including balloon artists, face painters, Uncle Sam stilt walker, and live balloon art sculpture (4-9:30 p.m.); inflatables and DJ, $10 all-you-can jump wristband (6:30-9:30 p.m.); fireworks (9:30 p.m.)
• MURRELLS INLET (View along the Marsh Walk; 843-357-2007) - Freedom Is Fine in 2009 Boat Parade - 4th of July at 5 p.m. (fireworks at 10 p.m.)
• SURFSIDE BEACH (Pier Area; 843-650-9548) - Independence Day Celebration - 4th of July 6-10 p.m. (fireworks 9:30 p.m.). Steve Fairchild ("Surfside Beach's Garth Brooks") and friends perform 6-9 p.m., plus kids' activities, concessions and free ice cream and watermelon followed by fireworks over the ocean at the Surfside Beach Pier.

The Pawleys Island Festival of Music & Art has announced that Grammy Award-winning vocalist Steve Tyrell will headline the 2009 Festival. In his four decades in the music business, Tyrell has achieved great success as an artist, producer, songwriter, music supervisor and performer, earning two Emmy nominations along the way.

Tyrell's performance takes place on Saturday, September 19, 7 p.m. at the performance tent at Brookgreen Gardens. Tickets for this performance are expected to sell out quickly, and will be available for purchase beginning July 1 - either online or by phone (843-626-8911).

With breakthrough performances in "Father of the Bride" and "Father of the Bride II," Steve Tyrell reinvented and re-popularized classic pop standards for a modern-day audience. With the grit and soul of a lifetime, producing hits for artists from Dionne Warwick to last year's Grammy winner Rod Stewart ("Stardust...Vol. 3"), Tyrell himself has sold hundreds of thousands of albums and gained a passionate worldwide following. His hits "The Way You Look Tonight," "A Kiss to Build a Dream On," and "The Sunny Side of The Street" have launched thousands of weddings and millions of romances. Here's a clip from a recent performance on "The Tonight Show":

By Lenore McKenzie-Morris

Fireworks, live music, stilt walkers: downtown Myrtle Beach is working hard to entertain this year's visitors.

Three days a week, from now through August, the Oceanfront Merchant's Association has fireworks every Wednesday, a kids' carnival every Monday and live music on Tuesdays and Saturdays at Plyler Park on Ocean Boulevard at Joe White Avenue.

Located just a block north of the now vacant Pavilion site, Plyler Park is a five-year-old plaza named for the founder of the nearby Gay Dolphin Gift Shop.

"It is named for Justin Whitaker Plyler," noted Myrtle Beach public information officer Mark Kruea, "an early visionary who loved Myrtle Beach and saw what it could become. Plyler operated several businesses here following service in World War II, including the Gay Dolphin Gift Shop, which he founded in 1946. His son, Gus Plyler, is still an active downtown merchant. You'll find a monument to Justin Plyler on the southeastern corner of the park, near Marvin's."

Few folks attending the festivities will find the marker, mostly because they'll be too busy having fun.

"On Sunday nights, we have stilt performers, character sketchers, Vaudeville acts on stage and human statues," said Jonathan Staton, president of the Oceanfront Merchant's Association. "The kids' carnival on Monday has the same performers as Sunday and we've added face painters, a balloon artist, an obstacle course and (moon) bouncers."

Staton said the association has had great support from the City and the Myrtle Beach Redevelopment Association. The groups are working together to get people downtown and fill the void left by the close of the Pavilion.

"We definitely can see a difference," Staton said. "I have a parking business up here as well as a deli. Everyone I've talk to can see the difference."

By Christina Lee Knauss

If you bring the celebrities out, they will come.

That paraphrase of the famous line from "Field of Dreams" accurately describes the crowds that came out June 5-6 for the main events at the 58th annual Sun Fun Festival, held for the second year in The Market Commons district off Farrow Parkway.

The two-day festival drew between 40,000 and 50,000 people, according to Nancy Gray, media communications manager for the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.

Thousands waited in line for more than two hours on June 6 to get autographs and photographs from celebrities such as young actor Jason Earles, who plays "Jackson Stewart" on the Disney Channel hit "Hannah Montana"; Blake Lewis, recording artist and runner-up from season six of "American Idol"; and actor Robert Newman, who plays "Joshua Lewis" on "The Guiding Light."

Crowds also lined up to get autographs and photos with professional wrestler Ric Flair, who received the key to the city during the annual Welcome Ceremony held June 6.

Thousands also turned out for a free evening concert by national recording artists Lifehouse, a pop-rock band whose best-known singles include "Hanging by a Moment" and "You and Me."

The entire festival was definitely family-friendly, with plenty of attractions for children including inflatable bouncers, games, kid-oriented performances, and an interactive play area set up by event sponsor Honeycomb Cereal.

By Christina Knauss

Take two pianos, two musicians and two club levels full of people having a great time, and what do you get?

A night of entertainment unlike any other on the Grand Strand, and it's available only at Crocodile Rocks.

Since 1995, this club with its "dueling pianos" format has been one of the biggest draws in the Celebrity Square entertainment area at Broadway at the Beach. There's not a time of year when the place isn't packed - workers say the crowds are often as good during the winter as they are during the peak season of summer. What's the draw? Live music, a chance to sing along, and an interactive, friendly party atmosphere that everyone can enjoy.

By Christina Lee Knauss

Meck Hartfield stood under a white tent in Conway on May 2 and pounded a piece of iron into a delicate, tapering flower.

Hartfield owns Potts Ferry Forge, an old-fashioned blacksmith and iron works in Johnsonville, where he produces one-of-a-kind items such as tomahawks, knives, fireplace tools, walking sticks, lamps and doorknockers. Much of the metal comes from scrap people donate to him, or that he finds on his own.

A crowd of people gathered around as Hartfield scooped pieces of glowing-hot metal from burning coals, and sparks flew as he shaped the metal on an anvil.

Hartfield's unique work - and the chance to see him produce it on site - was symbolic of the wide range of artistic skills on display in downtown Conway that day at the 23rd annual Main Street Rivertown Music and Arts Festival.

The festival drew thousands of people to downtown Conway for a 12-hour day of live music, homegrown arts and crafts, food and a chance to enjoy great weather and the ambiance of downtown Conway.

By Lenore McKenzie-Morris

Happy parents strolled throughout Freestyle Music Park on Sunday, ecstatic that last year's season passes were renewed by smiling employees without a hassle. The newly re-christened park reopened on Memorial Day weekend under new ownership. Locals who had feared their season passes from the former Hard Rock Park would be ignored by the new owners were soothed by the sweet reception at the park's entrance gates.

Kathy Perry, who brought her family to Hard Rock Park on a weekly basis last year, pedaled her way to the top of a new children's ride in the Kids in America section with six-year-old daughter Ashtyn.

FPI MB Entertainment, the new owners of the park, added four new children's rides to expand the appeal of the 55-acre park off U.S. 501 at the Intracoastal Waterway.

Perry said the new ride "Wheels in the Sky" was a lot of fun and pointed out another new ride "Fly Like An Eagle" that was already a family favorite.

"These are all very good additions," she said.

By Jason M. Rodriguez

Military Appreciation Days will be celebrated in Myrtle Beach from May 28-30, as more than 20 military groups from North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia compete in various sports and a cook-off.

Appreciation days kick off Thursday with a golf tournament at Whispering Pines Golf Course for active military members. A handgun marksmanship tournament will also be held Thursday at the indoor range of the Myrtle Beach Law Enforcement Center Annex. Finally on Thursday, a men's basketball tournament will be held at Crabtree Memorial Gymnasium.

At 7 p.m. Friday, the U. S. Air Force Heritage of America Blue Aces Band will perform in Grand Park at The Market Common. On Saturday, a 5K Run and Walk is planned for 8 a.m., and open to active military and veterans at no charge and civilians for a $20 fee. The run/walk begins at Crabtree Gym. Exhibits will be set up at 9 a.m. in Grand Park representing various branches of the military.