Saturday, July 4, 2026

Athens’ biggest 4th of July celebration is back and bigger and better than ever! Join us for Red, White & BOOM Presented by Ramona J’s at the Sportsplex on Highway 31 in Athens. Bring family and friends at 4:00PM and enjoy live music, local food trucks, vendors, a Battle of the Bands, and storytelling with Carol Cain, Mark Rodgers and Charlie McCoin, all building up to a spectacular fireworks show at 9 PM. Celebrate 250 years of the United States with an afternoon of community, music, and fun for all ages.

PERFORMANCES:

-- Mark Rodgers 5-5:30 PM

-- Carol Cain 6:15-6:45 PM

-- Charlie McCoin 7:30-8 PM

Carol Cain performs at museums, schools, churches, senior centers, and libraries throughout the Southeast, including several appearances at our own Athens Storytelling Festival and Timpanogos Storytelling Festival in Orem, Utah. She is featured on the Donald Davis workshop video entitled “What's Your Story?” which has been broadcast on both BYU-TV and North Carolina Public Broadcasting. For the past twenty-eight years, Carol has performed as Rosie the Riveter at the Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia and other locations throughout the U.S.

Mark Rodgers is a retired Navy Supply Officer, retired Christian Store manager, and retired Christian School Administrator/basketball coach/volleyball coach/Athletic Director (it was a very small school), who currently serves as Music Minister at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Athens, Alabama.

Mark went to school in nearby Florence, Alabama.  There he met and married a wonderful, Godly woman (Linda) with whom he raised three daughters and currently enjoys four grandsons.  He is a serious Christian who believes we should “Rejoice in the Lord always.”   In fact, his philosophy of ministry is “When in doubt, sing louder.”   Whenever asked (and often even when not asked), he is more than willing to regale all within hearing with stories about “weird things that have happened to me.”  Just ask him.  You will see.

Charlie McCoin is a Tennessee storyteller and theatre educator whose stories weave together humor, history, folklore, and the people who make a place feel like home. Through personal stories and tales gathered from his travels, Charlie invites audiences to laugh, reflect, and discover the extraordinary in everyday life.