Local residents were able to celebrate Independence Day with a day-long itinerary in a new, but familiar location this year.  

The Champaign County Freedom Celebration Committee moved the festivities to Parking Lot E-14, just west of the State Farm Center, and held a Fourth of July celebration on the University campus for the first time in seven years.

It was a return that the committee expected, as the previous host, Parkland College, was only a temporary location while Memorial Stadium underwent construction beginning in 2006.

“The move to Parkland was never meant to be permanent,” Ginny Schlorff, board president of the committee, said. “Every year, the public has asked for a return to the U of I, and honestly, it went fantastic.”

Patrons set up on the west side of Memorial Stadium along both sides of First Street, as well as in the northwest parking lot of the State Farm Center. There were also people in the Research Park along St. Marys Road and Oak Street surrounding E-14.

While the fireworks were the highlight of the day, the entire celebration included a youth run, a 5K race and a parade in the morning. There was also live music entertainment and various food tents in Lot 31 — west of First Street — beginning at 7 p.m., until the fireworks began at approximately 9:15 p.m. The aerial display lasted around 20 minutes.

“Part of that is to bring the traffic in earlier, so there isn’t a traffic jam at 8:30,” Schlorff said. “The negative with Parkland is there were only three entrances in and out. At U of I, there’s a gazillion, and people can park anywhere.”

Champaign was one of the few towns in the area to have its fireworks display actually on Thursday. Monticello and Rantoul held theirs the day before, while Danville and Tuscola waited until Saturday to conduct their holiday celebrations. Schlorff says that the date is up for debate almost every year, but being one of the only shows in town on the Fourth of July is a big positive.

“We’ve really tried hard to keep it on the Fourth,” Schlorff said. “It’s hard because the police have to work overtime, and the fire (department) has to work overtime just to staff the event. That is a challenge every year.”

Schlorff said that she has heard all positive feedback from the event and because the committee is on a five-year contract with Illinois, the event will stay on campus for the foreseeable future. The festivities had been on campus for over 50 years, Schlorff said, before the 2006 construction caused the last-minute move to Parkland.

“We’ve heard lots of positive comments about it being at the U of I, people loved that,” Schlorff said. “This was meant to be a permanent move. As long as both sides are happy, and the public is happy, there’s no reason not to remain there.”

Stephen can be reached at [email protected] and @steve_bourbon.