Union County celebration adds 250-drone show, fireworks and parade

Union County’s Veterans’ Fourth of July celebration is stretching into a larger two-day event this year, with a 250-drone light show, fireworks and a gala parade set to move crowds across Wolfe Field, downtown Lewisburg and Hufnagle Park. Organizers say the expanded program is meant to honor veterans and community groups throughout the Susquehanna Valley while linking the county’s holiday tradition to America250PA and the nation’s 250th anniversary.

The biggest addition is the drone show. Organizers say 250 drones will light the sky over Lewisburg, a symbolic nod to 250 years of American independence, and they are promoting it as the region’s first-ever drone light show. It will follow a Friday night concert at Wolfe Field at 7 p.m., with food vendors opening at 5 p.m. and The Lucky Afternoon Band also scheduled to play at 7 p.m. The drone display will be followed by fireworks at dusk, which the committee is billing as the county’s largest fireworks display.

The schedule then shifts into downtown Lewisburg on Saturday, June 27, when the Veterans’ Gala Parade is set to step off at 10 a.m. The parade remains the centerpiece of the weekend and gives the celebration its most visible downtown footprint, with the borough’s streets carrying the patriotic theme into the morning. The official event program ties the parade and the Friday night show to the same countywide observance, making this more than a single-night fireworks event.

The celebration also carries a real price tag. Organizers say the overall budget is about $100,000, and America250PA is helping cover part of the cost with a $20,000 grant. Alongside the main attractions, RiverStage Community Theatre is scheduled to stage 1776: The Musical in Lewisburg, and North Shore Railroad will run two one-hour train rides from Hufnagle Park to Winfield on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Tickets are $25. For merchants, veterans groups and borough officials, the weekend will test how Lewisburg handles a larger patriotic draw as Union County steps deeper into the America250 cycle.