Orange County Freedom Fest 250 returns with music, fireworks, history

Freedom Fest 250 will return Saturday, July 18, to Thomas Bull Memorial Park in Hamptonburgh, with Orange County opening the gates at 2 p.m. for a free, family-focused day that ends with fireworks and a drone show. The county has set a rain date of Saturday, July 25, and is marketing the event as part of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.

Orange County is positioning the celebration as more than a concert and fireworks outing. County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus and Tourism and Film Director Amanda Dana have framed it as a summer gathering that mixes patriotism, gratitude for veterans and local culture with an event that can draw families from across the county. The 2026 lineup is built around live music, a Battle of the Bands, Revolutionary War reenactors, a Kids Zone, a Bubble Bus, and food and craft vendors.

That combination gives the event a community role and an economic one. The free admission lowers the barrier for families, while the vendor mix creates a daylong market for local food sellers, craft operators and performers. Thomas Bull Memorial Park also gives Orange County a familiar, centrally placed venue for a large public event that is easy to identify and easy to reach for residents in Montgomery, Hamptonburgh and surrounding towns.

Pick OCNY lists the park at 211 NY-416, Montgomery, NY 12549, and says visitors should not bring glass containers, pets, sparklers or pop-up tents. Those rules matter for anyone planning a long afternoon at the park, especially families intending to stay through the finale. The county’s emphasis on a full day of programming suggests an event built to keep people on site from the opening hour through the closing show.

The 2026 edition also continues a county tradition that has grown around the same park. In 2025, Freedom Fest was held there on July 18 and began at 4 p.m., with Black Dirt Bandits scheduled to perform at 6:30 p.m. This year’s earlier gate opening, added reenactors and explicit America 250 branding show Orange County leaning harder into the historical theme while keeping the event rooted in the familiar summer formula of music, food and fireworks.

For Orange County, Freedom Fest 250 is both a civic celebration and a seasonal economic boost, with one free day in a county park connecting public memory, family recreation and business for local vendors and performers.