Fourth of July ushers festive traditions to the Swannanoa Valley

Montreat Parade and Black Mountain fireworks bookend full day of celebration

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
June 27, 2024

A full day of summer traditions will return to the Swannanoa Valley, Thursday, July 4, as the Montreat Conference Center hosts its 55th Annual Fourth of July Parade and the Town of Black Mountain ends the evening with a fireworks display.

The parade, led by the grand marshals The Stoney Creek Boys, will begin at 10:30 a.m., following a 10 a.m. flag raising on the lawn of Anderson Auditorium.

Montreat’s festivities begin at 7 a.m., when the Annual Gait Race 5K gets underway. Following the parade, the annual Montreat College Book Sale will be held in the L. Nelson Bell Library, from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. The William Black Lodge will host an ice cream social and open house from between 2 and 4 p.m.

Sally Jones Pottery will celebrate 50 years, holding a silent auction in the Currie Craft Center. Various lawn games and activities will take place throughout the afternoon, while the Fourth of July Big Circle Mountain Dance, from 7-10 p.m., closes out the celebration at the Patricia Cornwell Tennis Center.

Up Montreat Road, in the center of downtown Black Mountain, a fireworks show will begin at dusk. The display, which will be launched from an area near the 200 black of N.C. 9, is visible from Town Square and various locations in the business district. Parking is available on a first come, first serve basis.

A full list of Montreat Conference Center events can be viewed montreat.org.