Pop Goes the Culture

Fun for the Fourth!

 

Whether it's large booms and bursts of light raining from the sky, giggling children running around in flip-flops with a sparkler in each hand, the hiss of the grill as juicy goodies are cooked up or simply the company of family and good friends, there's no reminder of the many freedoms we enjoy quite like the Fourth of July. There's plenty of festivities and goings-on happening in our area and below you'll find a list of 'em (in alphabetical order, of course).

Have a safe and happy Independence Day!

 

Arlington - Fireworks will be seen over Arlington Community Park at dusk on Friday.

Bowling Green - Fireworks will start Saturday at dusk on Bowling Green State University’s intramural fields. The BG Area Community Band will host a free concert at Doyt-Perry football stadium at 8:30 p.m. Rain date is July 5.

Columbus - Red, White and Boom, the Midwest’s largest fireworks display, will be shot over the Scioto River from Veterans Memorial on the north side of Broad Street at 10 p.m. Friday. A wide array of entertainment and food will be offered starting at 11 a.m. A full events list can be found at http://www.redwhiteandboom.org/.

Findlay - Hancock County Fairgrounds open Saturday at 5 p.m. Music in the Gospel Pavilion will begin at 5 p.m. and will include Gloryway Quartet with Mary St. Clair from Mansfield, The Copenhavers Trio from Creston, Richardson Trio from Waterville, and Findlay songsters Jericho Road and 441 Quartet. Findlay rock band The Game will perform at 7 p.m. Food vendors and pony rides will be available. Fireworks begin at dusk.

Fostoria - Fireworks will start Saturday at dusk at Meadowlark Park. Music, games and food sales will begin at noon. At 6 p.m. the third annual Fostoria Idol Contest will be held with prizes offered to the top three winners. A song list is available at city hall, or singers may bring their own discs.

Fremont - Fireworks will be shot off at Rodger Young Park at dusk Saturday. The Toledo Symphony Concert Band will perform from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, with cannon fire accompaniment to the "1812 Overture." A downtown parade will be held at 5 p.m.

Kenton - Day-long activities Saturday will begin at 8 a.m. with a flea market, followed by a car show at 11 a.m., truck pull at noon, parade at 3 p.m., chicken barbecue at 5 p.m. and bingo at 7:30 p.m. Fireworks will begin at 10 p.m. Rain date for the fireworks is July 5 at 10 p.m.

Lima - Star Spangled Spectacular fireworks will be shot from Faurot Park at 10 p.m. Saturday. Activities will begin with a 5K run/walk at 9 a.m. Food booths, music, games and more will be featured throughout the day. A full events list can be found at www.lima4th.com.

Maumee/Perrysburg - Fireworks start at 10 p.m. Thursday from the Maumee-Perrysburg bridge. Activities for children at 5 p.m. in the 100 block of East Wayne Street in Perrysburg.

McComb - The village received enough donations this year to have fireworks. They will be set off at dusk Friday at the village park. There will also be free admission at the pool, food booths set up around noon, inflatables for all ages from 5-9 p.m. and music.

Napoleon - Fireworks will begin at Glenwood Park at 10 p.m. Saturday.

Ottawa - Fireworks start at 10 p.m. Sunday at Country Acres Golf Club on Ohio 694. Music, rides and other entertainment will start at 7 p.m. Parking is a $2 donation to Putnam County Home Care & Hospice.

Port Clinton - Fireworks start at 10 p.m. Saturday at Waterworks Park.

Put-In-Bay - Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial will be the fireworks launch site at 10 p.m. Saturday.

Sandusky - Stars and Stripes Celebration from 10 a.m. 40 4 p.m. in Washington Park and downtown Sandusky. Fireworks at 10 p.m. courtesy of Cedar Point.

Tiffin - Hedges-Boyer Park will host Independence Day activities from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, with music, games and fireworks at dusk. Rain date is Sunday.

Toledo - Red, White and Kaboom, a two-day event, will end with fireworks at the Downtown Riverfront at 9:45 p.m. Saturday. Those 12 and over will be charged $2 to enter the Promenade Park after 4 p.m. on Saturday, but those who bring a canned good to donate to local charities will be admitted free. Starting at noon Friday, the Northwest Ohio Restaurant Association will host Tent’s Taste of Toledo, and a battle of the bands will be held both days in the park. A kids area will offer activities on Saturday.

Van Buren State Park - Van Buren State Park will play host to a variety of activities this weekend including a movie showing, a canoe trip, a canoe race, a watermelon seed spitting contest, a spaghetti dinner and birds of prey and monarch butterfly programs. For more information click here or call naturalist Natalie Miller at 419-348-7679.

Wauseon - Fireworks at dusk with the best viewing being from the Wauseon High School football stadium and Reighard Park.

*Special thanks to Courier reporter Joy Brown!

Popular pitchman Billy Mays, 50, dies at his Florida home

Okay, now it's just getting creepy. I'm tired of reporting celebrity deaths.

Product pitchman Billy Mays died at his Tampa, Florida, home this morning.

Mays, 50, known for his high-energy OxiClean ads was pronounced dead at 7:45 a.m. The Hillsborough County medical examiner will perform an autopsy, Tampa police Lt. Brian Dugan said.

Mays was on a US Airways flight from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Tampa on Saturday that had a rough landing at Tampa International Airport when the plane's front tire blew out. While there where were no reported injuries on Flight 1241, there were some bums and bruises.

In an interview with a Tampa TV station, Mays said: "All of a sudden as we hit you know it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping. It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head."

"We were very sad to learn of Billy Mays' passing and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family," Airline spokesman Jim Olson said. Tampa officials say the Medical Examiner's Office expects to complete an autopsy by Monday afternoon. In a statement, Deborah Mays said that although "Billy lived a public life," the family does not plan immediate public statements about his death.

Mays was a spokesman for Orange Glo and detergent OxiClean and appeared in commercials for other products.

He is featured on the reality TV show ''Pitchmen'' on the Discovery Channel, which follows pitch people in their jobs.

"It is with incredible sadness that we have to report that Billy Mays died in his sleep last night," said a statement from the Discovery Channel. "Everyone that knows him was aware of his larger-than-life personality, generosity and warmth. Billy was a pioneer in his field and helped many people fulfill their dreams. He will be greatly missed as a loyal and compassionate friend. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family at this time of incredible loss."

- Jason

Michael Jackson dies in Los Angeles at 50

Bad week day to be a celebrity.

The Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press and numerous other sources are reporting that the king of pop Michael Jackson has died.

Jackson, 50, had been in a coma at the hospital since this afternoon, reportedly due to cardiac arrest he suffered at a house he was renting in LA. He was preparing for a comeback tour set to begin in July.

Fire Capt. Steve Ruda reported to media that a 911 call came in from a west Los Angeles residence at 12:21 p.m. Ruda said Jackson was then treated and transferred to the UCLA Medical Center. It was there that he reportedly slipped into a coma and died soon after, sources report.

The Gary, Indiana native had many No. 1 hits and his "Thriller" is the best-selling album of all time.

Jackson is the seventh of nine children in a well-known musical family. He has three children, Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II.

At the medical center, every entrance to the emergency room was blocked by security guards. Even hospital staffers were not permitted to enter. A few people stood inside the waiting area, some of them crying.A large crowd was also gathering outside the hospital.

Outside Jackson's Bel Air home, police arrived on motorcycles. The road in front of the home was closed in an attempt to hold traffic back, but several people were gathered outside the home.

- Jason

Farrah Fawcett passes away after battle with cancer

Farrah Fawcett, the iconic sex symbol and actress best known for her roll on Charlie's Angels, has passed away after battling anal cancer on and off for the past three years. She was 62.

Fawcett's battle with the disease was documented in a television special shown earlier this year. Fawcett began shooting "Farrah's Story," by taking a camera to a doctor's appointment. Eventually, the film expanded to include trips overseas in hopes of treating the cancer.

Ryan O'Neal, Fawcett's romantic partner since the mid-1980s, had recently told People magazine that the her health on the decline. "She stays in bed now. The doctors see that she is comfortable. Farrah is on IVs, but some of that is for nourishment. The treatment has pretty much ended," he said in an interview.

Fawcett is known as one of the most famous pin-up girls ever, and in 1976 a poster of her in a red swimsuit sold a reputed 12 million copies.

Fawcett also starred on TV and in movies, her debut being Charlie's Angels, the show that started the movement known as "jiggle TV," a series where beautiful young actresses appeared in bikinis at any time, any place. Later on she reinvented herself as a serious actress and starred in shows and films such as Logan's Run, Saturn 3, The Cannonball Run, The Apostle and Dr. T and the Women.

Her beau, Ryan O'Neal, released this statement on her death: "She's gone. She now belongs to the ages. She's now with her mother and sister and her God. I loved her with all my heart. I will miss her so very, very much. She was in and out of consciousness. I talked to her all through the night. I told her how very much I loved her. She's in a better place now."

He also says that Fawcett was surrounded by her doctors and close friends when died. He says, "She was with her team when she passed … Her eyes were open, but she didn't say anything. But you could see in her eyes that she recognized us."

- Jason