ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) – Communities across South Georgia are gearing up for Independence Day with parades and festivals. Below are what events are planned to celebrate our country’s independence:

Ben Hill County

• The city of Fitzgerald is hosting a 4th of July Celebration at Paulk Park on July 4. The event starts at 6 p.m., and it will have food and fireworks.

Berrien County

• An Independence Day celebration will be held in Enigma City Park on Thursday, July 4. Gates will open at 11 a.m. There will be live music, fireworks, vendors and more.

Brooks County

• An Independence Day Cruise-In will be held on Thursday, July 4, from 6-9 p.m. at 121 N. Culpepper St. in Quitman. The event will feature food trucks, family games, a parade, and fireworks.

Coffee County

• The City of Douglas, GFL Environmental, and partners will host the 2024 Freedom Fest celebration on Thursday, July 4, 2024. This festival will be held at JC Adams Municipal Park – Jardine Stadium. The gates will open at 5 p.m. and stadium seating will be provided. Admission and parking are free. There will be rides at the Rucker Family Kids Carnival, food, general vendors, and fireworks at dark.

Colquitt County

• In Doerun, there will be the Carver Farms Fresh Produce July 4th Celebration. This will take place on July 4 starting at 7 p.m. There will be a food truck, ice cream, boiled peanuts, watermelon, water sprinkler and fireworks.

Decatur County

• The city of Bainbridge will host a 4th of July Celebration on July 4 starting at 5 p.m. This event will be held at Earle May Boat Basin. There will be a live music by country music artists Maddie & Tae and a fireworks show.

Dougherty County

• The city of Albany will host an Independence Day Celebration on Thursday, July 4, at the Albany Civic Center, located at 100 W. Oglethorpe Blvd. The event will feature music, fireworks, and food. The concert will start at 5:30 p.m. and fireworks will start at 9:30 p.m.

Grady County

• The city of Cairo will be hosting Independence Day On Main on Wednesday, July 3. The event will have live music and fireworks. Entry is free to the public. The event will start at 7:30 p.m. and the fireworks show will begin at dusk.

Lowndes County

• The Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA) will host a fireworks show on Thursday, July 4. The show is set to start at nightfall around 9:15 p.m. It is free to the public, and it can be viewed from the mall side of I-75 between exits 16 and 18, looking west towards Brooks County.

Mitchell County

• The city of Camilla is hosting their Drone 4th of July Celebration on July 4 starting at 5 p.m. in Historic Downtown Camilla. There will be a drone show, live music, children activities and food.

Stewart County

• There will be a 4th of July Campsite Decorating Contest in Omaha. It will begin at 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 4. All campers are invited to participate and prizes will be given to the 1st and 2nd place winners.

Sumter County

• Cornerstone Church in Americus will host a 4th of July Party on July 3rd starting at 6:30 p.m. There will be food, games and fireworks.
• Andersonville will have a display known as ‘The Avenue of Flags’ at Andersonville National Historic Site between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Terrell County

• Terrell County Chamber of Commerce will host a 4th of July Celebration at Terrell High School on July 4 starting at 6:00p.m. There will be food trucks, music, arts & crafts, and fireworks.

Thomas County

• Thomasville will be hosting an Independence Day Fireworks at Remington Park, 45 Ben Grace Drive, at 9 p.m. on July 4.

Worth County

• An Independence Day Celebration Event will be held on 105 Doe Hill Road in Sylvester on Wednesday, July 3, by the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church.

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Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — these rights were enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and secured with the signatures of delegates from each of the 13 colonies. As the United States grew, the founders faced the contradictions and challenges that independence presented, including the limited power of the federal government. Eleven years after the Declaration of Independence was signed, delegates convened once more to draft and ratify the U.S. Constitution.

These two documents continue to shape and inform the country today. The Georgia delegates who signed them were dedicated to the betterment of both the nation and the state. As the United States celebrates 248 years of democracy, let us remember the Georgia signers who resolutely ushered in independence and were instrumental in establishing the political system we have today.

Button Gwinnett (1735–1777)

Often described as the most notorious of Georgia’s declaration signers, Button Gwinnett was born in Gloucestershire, England. He moved to Savannah in 1765, hoping to escape financial hardship. In Savannah, Gwinnett tried and failed at becoming a merchant before pivoting to planting, purchasing St. Catherine’s Island and enslaved people. When this venture also failed, Gwinnett shifted his focus to politics.

Before signing the Declaration of Independence, Gwinnett played a notable role in organizing and rallying backcountry and coastal Whigs in revolutionary efforts. In 1776, his success in local politics led to his election as a representative of Georgia at the Second Continental Congress. There he joined George Walton and Lyman Hall in signing the Declaration of Independence.

After signing the Declaration of Independence, Gwinnett returned to Georgia, where he held high-ranking military positions and briefly served as governor from March to May 1777. Gwinnett became entangled in ongoing conflicts with his rival, Lachlan McIntosh. Their rivalry reached a head in May 1777 after McIntosh publicly called Gwinnett “a scoundrell [sic] and lying rascal.”

Offended by the public insult, Gwinnett challenged McIntosh to a pistol duel. He was shot during the duel and died from his injuries. Less than a year after signing the Declaration of Independence, Gwinnett became the second signer to die. His signature, considered one of the rarest and most valuable due to his relative anonymity before signing the declaration and his death shortly after, has been valued at more than $500,000.

Lyman Hall (1724–1790)

Described by his peers as a “friend of human rights,” Lyman Hall was perhaps the most vocal advocate for national liberty in Georgia at the time. Born in Connecticut, Hall graduated from Yale College (now Yale University) before joining a group of New England Puritans who had relocated to the Southeast. Hall and the Puritans settled in St. John’s Parish and founded the town of Sunbury in Georgia’s Midway District (present-day Liberty County). In the parish, Hall served the community as a physician before turning to politics.

Hall and other members of the parish maintained strong family ties to New England, making them more sympathetic than most Georgians to the Patriots’ outrage at British policies such as the Intolerable Acts. . Frustrated with the colony’s decision to abstain from the First Continental Congress in 1774 and eager to show their support for national independence, St. John’s Parish independently elected to send Hall to Philadelphia, where he was admitted to Congress without voting ability. When Georgia formally aligned with the other colonies, they officially elected Hall as one of the delegates, allowing him to vote for, ratify, and sign the Declaration of Independence along with Gwinnett and Walton.

Upon his return to Savannah in 1777, Hall revived his medical practice before being elected governor from 1783 to 1784. As governor, Hall advocated for the establishment of courts and education by calling on the legislature in Augusta to grant plots of land and endow institutions of learning. His proposal paved the way for the establishment of Franklin College, later the University of Georgia.

George Walton (c. 1749–1804)

Despite his humble beginnings, George Walton went on to hold the most offices of the three signers of the Declaration of Independence. Born in Virginia, Walton was orphaned by the age of 12 and worked as a carpenter’s apprentice until his 1767 move to Savannah, where he successfully studied and practiced law. Like Gwinnett, Walton attended early meetings among fellow revolutionaries and secured election to the Second Continental Congress.

Although there is no record of Georgia’s delegates giving speeches in Congress, Walton was deeply moved by John Adams’ speech in support of independence. In a letter to Adams, he wrote, “Since the first day of July 1776, my conduct, in every station in life, has corresponded with the result of that great question which you so ably and faithfully developed on that day. … It was then I felt the strongest attachments and they have never departed from me.” Walton’s sense of devotion to the new nation is evident in the many offices he held upon returning to Georgia in 1778. He immediately resumed his political career at the state level. As colonel of the First Regiment of the Georgia Militia, Walton fought in the Siege of Savannah, was captured, and then, held as a prisoner of war. After being released, Walton was elected governor in 1779 and again in 1789. Between gubernatorial terms, Walton served as chief justice of Georgia from 1783 to 1789 and as a member of the Augusta Board of Commissioners from 1784 to 1785. He also served as a delegate to Georgia’s Constitutional Convention and as a U.S. Senator.

In addition to the many positions Walton held, he stood apart as the only one of Georgia’s signers of the Declaration of Independence who did not enslave people. Walton even spoke out against what he called the “barbarian” attacks by local white citizens on an African American Baptist congregation in Yamacraw, Georgia. Walton finally retired to his Augusta home, Meadow Garden, where he died. Meadow Garden now operates as a museum.

Abraham Baldwin (1754–1807)

Born in Connecticut, Abraham Baldwin graduated from Yale College and served as a chaplain during the Revolutionary War. After the war, Baldwin declined a professorship at Yale, instead choosing to relocate to Georgia.

Aware of the high value Baldwin placed on education, Governor Lyman Hall encouraged him to create a plan for secondary and higher education. Baldwin believed that an educated public was the cornerstone of a successful republic, and to this end, he crafted a plan that would advance not only the educational system in Georgia but also serve as a blueprint for public higher education across the country. Baldwin’s plan eventually led to the establishment in 1785 of Franklin College (later the University of Georgia), the nation’s first state-chartered university. Baldwin served as UGA’s first president from 1786 to 1801.

During this time, Baldwin also served as a delegate at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the main concerns at the convention was how each state would be represented in the federal government. Larger states advocated for representation based on population, while smaller states, fearing inadequate representation, voted for equal representation.

Although Georgia was considered a larger state, Baldwin empathetically voted with the smaller states, resulting in a tie that led to a compromise. The Great Compromise, also known as the Connecticut Compromise, established the bicameral legislature: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Described as an intentional listener, Baldwin’s efforts helped create the legislative system we have today and paved the way for public higher education across the nation.

William Few Jr. (1748–1828)

William Few Jr. arrived in Georgia in the mid-1770s after abandoning a drought-stricken tobacco farm in his birth state of Maryland and fleeing political trouble in North Carolina. During the Revolutionary War, Few joined the Richmond County regiment and served as a lieutenant colonel. Like other Georgia signers, Few’s military success opened the door to political service.

In 1786, Few was elected to represent Georgia at the 1787 Constitutional Convention where he lobbied his fellow congressmen to vote in favor of the new U.S. Constitution. After signing the Constitution, Few continued to hold office in the newly formed legislature, serving as one of Georgia’s first senators.

When his congressional term ended in 1793, Few returned to Georgia and served as a federal judge for the Georgia circuit. Few was also an advocate for education and a founding trustee of the University of Georgia in 1785. Although Few spent his final years in New York, his remains were reinterred at St. Paul’s Church in Augusta.

Hope and promise characterized the early years of the newly independent United States. Founding fathers wrestled with optimism and frustration as they laid the foundations of the country. Georgia’s signers met this challenge with passion and devotion. Their belief in the value of public service is evident in how they lived their lives. Their contributions to the state are honored through the naming of counties, schools, memorials, and roads throughout Georgia.

The burden, and I should say the responsibility of writing about a real historical figure, is formidable. Do you depict that person warts and all? How indeed do you reveal those warts without violating your character, but rather make the flaws an interesting part of their personality? This is a challenge I had to meet head on when I set out to write my Georgia O’Keeffe mysteries. I knew about her as a painter as the rest of the world does. But what in her character or her work as a painter would even suggest she might make a good amateur sleuth?

Actually, my research began with an art exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts that focused not on her paintings but her “things”—her clothing mostly. She was an expert seamstress and sewed many of her own clothes. I fell in love with one cream colored dress that had miniscule pleats that made up the bodice. I put that dress in the first book I wrote featuring Georgia, Light On Bone. One thinks of O’Keeffe’s paintings as great swathes of color, broad brush strokes but the stitching on this dress is just the opposite of broad brushstrokes. It is painstakingly delicate. The detailing is exquisite, the stitches almost microscopic. In short, she was alert to the infinitesimal that others might miss. For her, the Sherlock Holmes magnifying glass would be redundant.

In addition to the clothes she made, she had a fairly large collection of Japanese kimonos. These kimonos in a sense spoke largely about her aesthetic which was sleek and simple. But there were also, jeans, sneakers, and a well-worn pair of brown leather lace up boots that she used for tromping around in the desert.

Issey Miyake, the famous Japanese clothing designer, in 1983 declared the painter his muse. “Georgia O’Keeffe. For the first time, I’m designing clothes with one person in mind. And I’m planning to send them to her when they’re ready.”

But perhaps the greatest example of her refined sensibilities is her house in Abiquiu, New Mexico. Her dining table was a plywood plank on sawhorses. On a small table by an easy chair there was a dish of rattles she collected from rattlesnakes she had encountered on her walks out in the desert, and killed if they threatened her. There were also, the bones that she searched for that became a central subject of so many of her paintings. In short, no clutter, no tchotchkes, nothing distracting. She could keep her focus on form, pattern and construction. How things fit together.

As I have said countless times to people, when you come back from seeing the Abiquiu house, you simply want to throw out everything in your own house. But then you realize it wouldn’t work, for it is the New Mexico light that brings it all together. She decorated the house in an active partnership with the desert light.

But these are all the material things that spoke so directly to her aesthetic. What about her thinking? Her beliefs beyond the material? How did she think and handle her complex relationship with her husband Alfred Stieglitz who was serially unfaithful to her? Perhaps the one act she never forgave was when he forced her to have an abortion.

Although I never found anything in her writing that directly mentioned the abortion, I did find this letter to Stieglitz after one of her early trips to the southwest.

There is much life in me — when it was always checked in moving toward you — I realized it would die if it could not move toward something … I chose coming away because here at least I feel good — and it makes me feel I am growing very tall and straight inside — and very still — Maybe you will not love me for it — but for me it seems to be the best thing I can do for you — I hope this letter carries no hurt to you — It is the last thing I want to do in the world.

So, it was by reading her letters to Stieglitz and those she wrote to Anita Pollitzer, another artist and friend, who introduced her to Stieglitz that I discovered her voice, and some of her deepest passions. It is a quiet yet dazzling voice. It is a voice that I felt was the essence of Georgia O’Keeffe.

I have written many novels that feature historical figures. Although these are fictional stories, I always want to stay true to the character of that person. I think of myself as an explorer of feelings, buried emotions and not simply events in their lives, but how these events might impact their lives and how they would think about them. And this is what fed into Georgia’s eccentric skills as an amateur detective. There is an array of feelings and emotions to be explored in the life of O’Keeffe. Perhaps first and foremost those feelings for the desert and her regrets of never having a child. But there are also her political beliefs and the growing threat of the second world war.

Perhaps the best part of writing about an historical figure is for me the ‘historical’ part. My book Light on Bone, and the second one, Mortal Radiance, are both set in the 1930s. The build up toward World War 2 is beginning. Therefore, I find myself having to take meticulous care on a range on seemingly obscure questions as I explore that era and put facts in the book. What year were the ice cream treats Eskimo pies invented? Did they have electro cardiograms in the 1930’s? When was penicillin developed? The OSS morphed into the CIA in the 1940s. How did that happen? When and where in our country did the German American Bund emerge. What were the ties between the Duke and the Duchess of Windsor and Nazis?

But perhaps one of the most fascinating things I had to explore was a perceptual phenomenon that Georgia O’Keeffe had known as Synesthesia. Synesthesia is a perceptual experience in which stimulation in one sensory pathway triggers another experience in a second pathway. This is a perfect talent for a visionary detective to possess. And it’s not fiction! Georgia was a great listener to classical music. So, I might think when I see one of her paintings what music might she have been listening to that inspired the painting of The Grey Hills—was it Pablo Casals? Or perhaps something more tumultuous, Mahler Symphony number 9? For me Georgia O’Keeffe is an ultimate and compelling enigma and that was why I chose to write about her. And in doing so I am determined to remain faithful to the fiction of this character—Georgia Totto O’Keeffe.

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