Over the weekend and through Tuesday, a lot of people asked me, “How was your Fourth?”

In my line of work, holidays are often just as much of a hassle as something I can enjoy, and my response to that question this year has been, “Good, but busy.”

If you love Independence Day celebrations and fireworks, you’re pretty spoiled for choice in events to attend in Barry County.

Festivities always kick off on July 3 in Purdy, where the Terry Family Fireworks event draws hundreds of people to the area of Highway C and Business 37 (Farm Road 1080). Lawn chairs and families line the highway and fill surrounding parking lots, enjoying food, fellowship and music in anticipation of a close-up, well designed fireworks display shot from the field west of the Performing Arts Center.

On Independence Day itself, there are four annual events, ranging in offerings and style.

Closest to Cassville are the Seligman and Wheaton celebrations. At Seligman’s 4th of July celebration, presented by the city of Seligman, hot dog meals are distributed, Bluegrass music fills the air behind City Hall, and children of all ages enjoy the park and splash pad. And of course, there is a lengthy fireworks display at dusk.

Wheaton’s 4th of July Freedom Jam, put on by the Wheaton Fire Protection District, is much of the same. Live music at the pavilion in the Wheaton City Park, food trucks and a playground full of kids gives way to a fireworks display shot from the Fire Station.

These two events are the epitome of community, and the fireworks shows have an exciting, close up feel unique to small town America.

The other two events are on opposite ends of the county, Monett and Shell Knob. Monett’s Freedom and Fireworks, hosted by the Monett Chamber of Commerce, is the largest event in the area numbers- wise, but it is an allday affair. The Pancakes for Parkinson’s breakfast coincides with the Stars and Serves pickleball tournament in the morning, and the Monett Lions Club barbecue chicken dinners make for a great mid-day meal. Children’s activities, including rides and games, rule the afternoon, as well as the typically more than 30 food and retail vendors who set up booths.

The event is capped by live music leading into a large fireworks show prepared and shot by local vendor Jared Lankford, with Hale Fireworks, who employs local residents to help launch the display.

Shell Knob’s Fire & Thunder is an entirely different feel — one for the lake lover. The fireworks display draws hundreds of boats to the Highway 39 bridge over Table Rock Lake, and if you’re viewing from land, you better get to your chosen viewing location early. The official viewing location for the free show is the Central Community United Methodist Church, but other areas that fill up quickly include the pizza Hut parking lot and turnaround areas at the bridge. My favorite spot in recent years is the CCC Camp further down Highway YY. The overlook there gives an incredible high-up view of the fireworks with the boat lights and bridge as a backdrop — it’s an incredible visual.

Lake lovers get a double dose the day after July 4th, when the Eagle Rock-Golden-Mano Fire Protection District shoots its annual fireworks display over the Highway 86 bridge. This year’s show was shot from a rented barge, with fireworks launching directly from the water. The Army Corps of Engineers’ Eagle Rock Campground and the Eagle Rock Marina are always filled with folks happy to enjoy the lengthy, free show.

As I reflected on the July 4th weekend this year, I had the same thought many Cassville residents have every Independence Day — why not Cassville?

The Stumpff Family Event Center hosts an annual truck and tractor pull, and some community members put on an impromptu display for anyone who was in town and wanted to see some larger pyrotechnics. Alas, if you live in Cassville and want to attend a community event, you’ll have to travel.

Ithinkitwouldbeamazing for Cassville to launch its own event, but I also recognize building such a thing takes time. I have spent 11 Independence Days in Barry County, and in that time, all of the aforementioned events have occurred. Purdy, Seligman, Wheaton, Monett, Shell Knob and Eagle Rock have all put in a respectable amount of time and money into developing a staying power that keeps drawing people back to their celebrations.

If Cassville were to start one, there is a possibility it would take away from those already established events, a prospect I hope not to see. That leaves few options. The best one I could suggest is to spark a new event on July 2 or July 6, but being so many days distant from the actual holiday could present attendance challenges.

That leaves the question, does Cassville need one?

The United States of America will be celebrating its 250th birthday on July 4, 2026 — also on a Saturday — so I anticipate all the established events will go all out for the semiquincentennial. Is there room for Cassville to join, or are Barry County residents’ Independence Day plans already set in stone?

I want to hear your thoughts. This column will be posted on our social media pages this week, where you can give feedback. Or, send me a letter to the editor by mail to P.O. Box 486 in Cassville, or submit one online at https://forms.gle/mVxgcX71apVHesmn7. What do you think?

Kyle Troutman has served as editor of the Cassville Democrat since 2014 and owner/publisher since 2023. He was named William E. James/Missouri Outstanding Young Journalist for daily newspapers in 2017, and he is a two-time ISWNE Golden Dozen award winner. He may be reached at 417-847 2610 or ktroutman@cassville- democrat.com.