The Fourth of July is quickly approaching, and many Northeast Ohio counties, cities and organizations have different events planned to celebrate Independence Day.

This year, there are a wide variety of celebrations across Northeast Ohio. From wiffleball tournaments to cultural festivals to the classic barbecue and fireworks, Northeast Ohio has many unique festivities to offer this week.

See the list below for different celebrations planned across the region.

Ashland County:

Wifflefest XXV

Location: Southview Grace Brethren Church (810 Katherine Avenue, Ashland, OH)

Compete in a wiffleball tournament at the adult, high school, middle school or elementary level during July 4-6 (registration required).

Ashtabula County:

Red, White, & Boom Over Lake Erie

Location: Lakeview Park (340 Erie Street, Conneaut, OH).

Watch musical performances and participate in festive activities during July 4-6. A fireworks show over Lake Erie will begin at 10 p.m. on July 6th.

Carroll County:

Carroll County Fireworks Show

Location: Carroll County Fairgrounds (160 Kensington Road NE, Carrollton, OH).

Enjoy a variety of food trucks, vendors and kids activities on July 5 beginning at 4 p.m. A fireworks show will begin at 10 p.m.

Columbiana County:

East Palestine Firefighters Association Annual 4th of July Celebration

Location: East Palestine City Park (31 Park Avenue, East Palestine, OH).

Activities will begin at 8 a.m. on July 4, and there will be a fireworks display in the evening.

Coshocton County:

Coshocton Fireworks

Location: Coshocton County Fairgrounds (707 Kenilworth Avenue, Coshocton, OH).

Enjoy a fireworks display beginning at dusk on July 3.

Cuyahoga County:

Grindstone Festival

Location: Coe Lake Park (Coe Lake, Berea, OH)

Spend July 4 participating in lake activities, enjoying live entertainment and watching a fireworks display later into the evening. This event runs from 4-10 p.m.

Independence Day Parade and Fireworks

Location: Clague Park (Clague Park, Westlake, OH)

Spend July 4 in Westlake with activities, including a car show, face-painting, and food vendors and a fireworks show at dusk.

Light Up the Lake: 4th of July Fireworks

Location: Multiple viewing locations throughout Cleveland.

Watch a 20-minute fireworks display launched from the Port of Cleveland at dusk on July 4.

Solon Community Band Concert and Fireworks

Location: Solon Community Park (6679 SOM Center Rd., Solon, OH).

Enjoy an evening of live music on July 3 beginning at 7:30 followed by a fireworks display.

Erie County:

Light Up the Point

Location: Cedar Point (1 Cedar Point Drive, Sandusky, OH).

In addition to Cedar Point’s coasters and other activities, there will be a fireworks display at night on July 4 and July 5.

Geauga County:

Community Fourth of July Celebration

Location: Kenston High School (95000 Bainbridge Road, Chagrin Falls, OH).

This event will take place on July 5 from 6-10:30 p.m., and there will be a fireworks display at dusk.

Fourth of July Fireworks

Location: Geauga County Fairgrounds (14373 N. Cheshire St., Burton, OH)

Gates open for cars, motorcycles and walk ins at 6 p.m., and fireworks begin at dusk.

Holmes County:

Loudonville Fireworks

Location: Riverside Park (131 W. Main St., Loudonville, OH).

Enjoy a fireworks display beginning at dusk on July 4.

Huron County:

4th of July Fireworks

Location: Huron County Fairgrounds (940 Fair Rd., Norwalk, OH)

Enjoy a fireworks display beginning at dusk on July 4 at the county fairgrounds. A Fourth of July parade will run through the city of Norwalk at 10:30 a.m. that day.

Lake County:

Independence Day Celebration

Location: Mentor Civic Amphitheater (8600 Munson Rd., Mentor, OH).

Watch a free concert at the Mentor Civic Amphitheater at 7:45 p.m. on July 4, followed by a 25-minute fireworks display. There will also be food trucks and beverage sales in the surrounding area that evening.

Lorain County:

Avon Lake’s Fireworks Celebration

Location: Weiss Field (33401 Webber Rd., Avon Lake, OH)

Enjoy a variety of food trucks starting at 5 p.m. on July 3 followed by fireworks at 10.

Mahoning County:

Fireworks and Food Trucks

Location: Wean Park (201 S. Phelps St., Youngstown, OH).

The city of Youngstown will host a variety of food trucks on July 4 from 6-10 p.m., and a fireworks display will be held immediately after.

Medina County:

Independence Day Parade, Music and Fireworks

Location: Mill Stream Park (1200 Maple St., Valley City, OH).

From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on July 4, this event consists of a parade, a car show, food trucks and fireworks at dusk.

Portage County:

Hiram 4th of July Celebration

Location: Hiram College (11715 Garfield Rd., Hiram, OH).

Beginning in the evening of July 3 with food vendors, this celebration consists of a softball game, a potluck, a pie contest and much more through July 4. A fireworks display will begin at 9:30 p.m. on July 3.

Richland County:

Charles Mill Red, White, and Blue Celebration

Location: Charles Mill Lake Park (1277A State Route 430, Mansfield, OH).

Various events, consisting of arts and crafts, parades and games during July 4-6. A fireworks show over Charles Mill Lake will begin at dusk on the 6th.

Stark County:

North Canton Chamber of Commerce July 4 Fireworks Show

Location: North Canton Hoover High School (525 7 St. NW, North Canton, OH).

This event will take place on July 4 and will consist of food trucks opening at 6 p.m. and a fireworks show at 10 p.m.

Stark County Italian American Festival

Location: Cultural Center for the Arts (1001 Market Ave. N., Canton OH).

Enjoy a weekend of bocce, food and live entertainment from July 5 through July 7.

Summit County:

Rib White & Blue Festival

Location: Lock 3 (200 S. Main St., Akron, OH).

Enjoy plenty of barbecue food, as well as nightly concerts at 7 p.m., starting July 3 through July 6. A fireworks display will take place at 9:45 p.m. on July 6.

Trumbull County:

4th of July Homecoming and Parade

Location: Gustavus Township Park (8867 Youngstown Kingsville Rd., Farmdale, OH).

This festival includes food vendors, a parade, kids activities and more on July 4 beginning at 10 a.m.

Tuscarawas County:

City of New Philadelphia Gigantic Fireworks Display

Location: Tuscora Park Practice Field (161 Tuscora Ave. NW, New Philadelphia, OH)

Enjoy a firework display beginning at 10 p.m. on July 6.

Wayne County:

Wooster 4th of July Fireworks

Location: Burbank/Oldman Road Soccer Field (100 Oldman Rd., Wooster, OH).

This July 4th celebration begins at 5 p.m. on Thursday with food and family entertainment and concludes with a fireworks show at 10 p.m.

Cooking is a bit of an acquired art that requires years of honing, practice and experience.

Some people, however, never acquire that art. And some cities are more clueless than others when it comes to cooking skills, one new report says.

In fact, Cleveland is the No. 1 city in the U.S. with the most clueless cooks, according “Clueless Cooks: The 2024 Report” from Meats by Linz, a family-owned meat wholesaler based in Indiana. Linz conducted its report by surveying 2,010 respondents nationwide in May 2024 about their experiences with cooking and their cooking skills. The report also analyzed Google search volume to determine search interest for basic cooking skills across all cities with a population of at least 250,000 and measured it per 100,000 residents

Cleveland led all U.S. cities with 10,258 Google searches related to basic cooking skills per 100,000 residents. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, (10,020) ranked second on the list as the only other U.S. city to eclipse 10,000 searches for basic cooking skills per 100,000 residents.

The top 10 U.S. cities with the most clueless cooks, according to Linz, are:

1. Cleveland, OH

2. Pittsburgh, PA

3. Seattle, WA

4. Madison, WI

5. Lubbock, TX

6. Portland OR

7. Austin, TX

8. Minneapolis, MN

9. Atlanta, GA

10. Nashville, TN

Beyond the top 10, three additional Ohio cities ranked among the top 30 most clueless cooking cities in the U.S. Cincinnati and Toledo ranked consecutively at No. 16 and No. 17, respectively, while Columbus is 29th on the list.

What’s more, the majority (54%) of respondents said they are not proficient in the kitchen and about one-third (33%) of respondents reported negative feedback about their cooking skills. A similar number (35%) say they have no desire to try to become a good cook, according to the report.

When it comes to hurdles to becoming a good cook, common issues reported were lack of time (54%) lack of motivation (49%) and lack of skills or experience (44%). About one-in-seven respondents (14%) rated their cooking skills as “advanced” or “expert.”

The full report from Meat by Linz on “Clueless Cooks: The 2024 Report” can be found online.

The NBA looked much different eight years ago.

Brandon Ingram and Jaylen Brown had just been drafted into the league, Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon saved the dunk contest, Kobe Bryant scored 60 points in a farewell game, and the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors routinely squared off in the NBA Finals.

Flash forward to 2024, and now two foes from those historic matchups are teaming up with one another, hoping to bring a championship to the Dallas Mavericks.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Klay Thompson is set to leave Golden State and is signing a three-year deal to team up with Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic in Dallas, creating the league’s newest big three.

Irving and Thompson each played an integral role in bringing champions to their respective teams in the late 2010s.

Irving will always be known for “The Shot” in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals, which snapped Cleveland’s 52-year championship drought, and Cavs fans still have flashbacks of watching Thompson pulling up from deep in transition and automatically hitting a three.

Thompson was the Warriors’ best permitter defender during those matchups, so he found himself guarding Kyrie in many of those games. An elite scorer such as Kyrie and one of the game’s best stoppers in Klay made their head-to-head matchups a treat to watch.

Funny enough, it was even Thompson who said LeBron James “probably just got his feelings hurt,” which is what sparked Kyrie and the Cavs’ comeback from a 3-1 lead. 

No matter what teams Kyrie or Klay are a member of for the rest of their career, they’ll still be tied to those Finals matchups from so many years ago. 

For Cavs fans, seeing them as teammates playing alongside one another will definitely take some time to get used to. But the duo, along with Doncic, can potentially be one of the most dangerous lineups in the league next season.

The experience they gained playing against one another in those intense matchups could come back to help them each get back to the promised land of another NBA Championship.