Fireworks, rodeos, and cowboy church: A town's July 4th stands for God and country
Each Independence Day, Prescott, Arizona — a Western city with roughly 47,000 people that still feels like a small-town haven — erupts with vibrant fireworks, the thunder of the rodeo, and parades that fill the streets with Americans waving the Stars and Stripes in celebration of the nation they hold dear.
Located approximately two hours north of Phoenix in Yavapai County, far from Arizona's urban sprawl, Prescott stands firm as a defender of traditional values. Faith, family, and love of country are central to the town's July Fourth celebrations, which extend over the week.
'And to play good country patriotic songs at this event in front of the entire town ... makes my soul shine!'
Some of those festivities include a spectacular fireworks show at the town's beautiful Watson Lake and the Annual Whiskey Row Boot Race, where kids and adults put on their cowboy boots for a Western-spirited dash.
John Heiney, communications outreach manager for the city of Prescott, told Blaze News, "Events in Prescott, specifically for the Fourth of July, bring residents out and visitors to our destination from miles away. Not only do we get to celebrate the 249th anniversary of our country, but we get to celebrate the freedom, beauty, and wonders of our destination. Tourism is the heartbeat of our community, and having a holiday to celebrate with our neighbors and visitors is something we look forward to year after year."
RELATED: Stop trying to segregate the American founding
The rodeo
The World's Oldest Rodeo is arguably the town's most notable event during the week of Independence Day. This year, from June 30 through July 6, Prescott Frontier Days will host several traditional rodeo performances and "Mutton Bustin' Competitions," where young cowboys and cowgirls ride sheep to compete for a gold belt buckle.
The town's Depot Marketplace serves as the venue for rodeo dances, where attendees can enjoy country music performances by "Lonesome Valley," a band led by one of Prescott's most well-known musicians, Sky "Daddy" Conwell.
'The tradition runs deep!'
Conwell told Blaze News, "This is the third year we played at this historic event," adding that he feels "blessed, honored, and humbled" to be a part of it.
"For a small town, Prescott has many amazing musicians and bands, and that they chose us this year makes me smile ear to ear. I've been smiling from the time I got the news!" Conwell said. "And to play good country patriotic songs at this event in front of the entire town (and cowboys and cowgirls from all over the state who always make the trek here for July 4) makes my soul shine!"
RELATED: The prayers that shaped a nation can save it again
The parades
The Kiwanis Club of Prescott, chartered 101 years ago, will put on the Kiwanis Kiddie Parade during the annual Prescott Frontier Days celebration.
Jim Tilley, the president of the Kiwanis Club of Prescott and a local veterinarian, told Blaze News that this Fourth of July marks the 84th year of the kids' parade, the local club's oldest continuous project.
Approximately 800 children, ages 12 and under, are expected to participate in this year's event, wearing Western and patriotic costumes. Those with the most star-spangled outfits and floats can win prizes.
Tilley said, "Kiwanis members and townspeople alike take delight in seeing the smiles on the kids' faces as they walk behind an official police escort in their own downtown. Many of the parents bringing their children reminisce about walking in the Kiddie Parade themselves when they were kids. The tradition runs deep!"
All of the winners of the children's parade are invited to ride on the Kiwanis float in the rodeo parade the following day — the event's 138th annual parade, described as a "wonderful tradition that celebrates our rich Western history."
Honoring first responders
As part of the annual Independence Day celebrations, the Prescott Firefighter's Charities hosts the Hose Cart Races, which originated in the late 1800s as a rivalry between the two hose cart companies before the arrival of fire engines in the 1920s.
'I looked forward to watching him!'
First responders — including firefighters, police officers, and ambulance crew — and their immediate family members are invited to participate in the event, where they race against an opposing team. The challenge involves wheeling historic hose carts to a water source, connecting to a hydrant, and turning on the water to knock down the rival's cone.
Amy Seets, the vice president of the PFFC and chair of the Hose Cart Races, told Blaze News that the competition is an event that the entire community eagerly anticipates each year.
"When my son was in high school, he was a [Prescott Fire Department] cadet and looked forward all year to competing on the PFD Cadet hose cart team," she said. "I looked forward to watching him! As an adult, after he came home from the Army, he went to work for Prescott Fire and was back competing in the hose cart races every year, and I still couldn't wait to watch."
Seets explained that the event pays tribute to history and tradition while connecting the community with their local first responders.
Glory to God
Pastor Dale Partridge, the lead pastor of Prescott's King's Way Reformed Church, described the Fourth of July celebrations as a "big moment to remind the nation who we are and who we were."
'It's driven by the moral law of God, the Ten Commandments.'
"We just want to figure out a way that we can engage in any way to help the nation remember that we were founded as a Christian nation," he told Blaze News. "We've taken that position to be engaged, especially on events that are going down downtown with a patriotic tone."
Partridge's church prioritizes remaining active in the Prescott community, upholding the principle that freedom demands stewardship of the sacred values of liberty.
Last year, the church participated in the annual rodeo parade, playing patriotic country music while carrying a large banner and signs reading, "Christ is King."
RELATED: A Marine’s Memorial Day message: Don’t forget the price
"There seems to be more patriotism that is driven by Christianity," he explained. "It's driven by the moral law of God, the Ten Commandments. It's driven by scripture in the Bible."
This faith-first spirit permeates Prescott's celebrations, uniting families and churches in gratitude for God-given freedoms.
RELATED: Is your kitchen table off limits to Jesus?
As the week's Fourth of July festivities wind down, the rodeo grounds host Cowboy Church on Sunday, where worshippers gather to praise the Lord and reflect on the blessings of liberty, a fitting capstone to a week rooted in devotion.
In Prescott, Arizona, the Fourth of July celebrations symbolize enduring values that define America. As the fireworks fade over the town's lake, the flame of liberty continues to burn bright.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
This Is Your Sign To Shoot The Biggest, Baddest Fireworks On Independence Day
This Independence Day, let freedom ring.Trump 2.0: ‘Bloodless revolution’ has the deep state in full meltdown mode
On July 4, 2026, America will celebrate the 250th anniversary of its founding.
Blaze News editor in chief Matthew Peterson and President of the Claremont Institute Ryan Williams don’t believe the occasion could have come at a better time.
“It’s a happy coincidence,” Williams tells Peterson, “because in many ways, what we’ve been calling for for a long time is a second American Revolution. Bloodless, of course, but institutionally, which is to say, to finally get a handle on the large bureaucracy that has been governing all aspects of our lives.”
While America does need those with expertise in government, Williams explains that we should “be controlled by constitutional officers” rather than “bureaucrats who can never be fired.”
However, most on the left — and some on the right — don’t see it that way.
“They think all efforts to reform it or defund it or start firing more bureaucrats, this is somehow all illegitimate,” Williams tells Peterson. “And I think it’ll be our job to tell people to connect the founding and constitutionalism to that project, and to illustrate to people that it’s really a way to return control over their government to them, and really to return prosperity and flourishing to America.”
And the two do not see the president failing in his goal to reform the government and make America a better place, as this is Trump’s second chance at accomplishing his goals — which Peterson calls “Trump 2.0.”
“The big difference is he has a loyal team for the most part. Trump 1.0, he had to rely on the establishment apparatus in many instances,” Williams says. “He had a bunch of principals around him who thought it was their God-given job to control him and prevent him from somehow destroying America, which was ridiculous.”
“I think it’s almost providential that he lost in 2020,” he continues, adding, “They had time to really think about this, and draft up more plans, and you really have almost a new presidential term rather than a second term, which are notoriously deflating and deflated as they’re kind of lame ducks out of the gate.”
Want more from 'Blaze News Tonight'?
To enjoy more provocative opinions, expert analysis, and breaking stories you won’t see anywhere else, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
The unknown Revolutionary War HERO who sacrificed everything
The American Revolution was led by many men with names we know by heart — Adams, Revere, Hancock, and Washington — to name a few.
But there’s a lesser known name who’s received little to no time in the limelight in the history books: Dr. Joseph Warren of Massachusetts.
“It’s very interesting,” Mark Levin says. “In New England, early on when the war broke out, before 1776, Dr. Joseph Warren was known better than George Washington.”
During the Battle of Bunker Hill, there was a problem that Warren, a leader of the Revolutionary movement in Boston, helped solve.
The colonists were short on gunpowder, so Warren and a few others put together and signed a letter addressed to the Congress of New York asking for help.
“You read that, and you look at that, and you really think about the men who wrote it and signed it, who put everything on the line, everything they had, including their lives,” Levin says, admiring their sacrifice.
When the Patriots ended up running out of gunpowder during this battle, some of them stood firm at the front line while others were ordered to retreat for another day.
“Dr. Warren insisted on staying on the front line. He was a wanted man, they knew who he was,” Levin explains. “The Americans are overwhelmed, they fight hand to hand combat, and one of the higher ranking British officers, as they were charging up the last time, saw Joseph Warren, aimed his pistol at him in nearly point blank range, shot him between the eyes.”
“And so as not to make a martyr out of Dr. Joseph Warren, they would cut him up into pieces, they would burn what was left of him,” he adds, noting that the British forces also urinated on his remains.
The American forces were able to determine that Warren was one of the dead as in his teeth he had some easily identifiable iron, which was made by Paul Revere, who was a metalsmith.
“I tell you that as a personal example, not personal to me, but a specific example, of what took place,” Levin says.
Want more from Mark Levin?
To enjoy more of "the Great One" — Mark Levin as you've never seen him before — subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
El Salvador's Nayib Bukele lauds America's founding ideals, throws shade at modern America in July 4th message
As people around the U.S. marked July 4th, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele noted that Salvadorans take inspiration from the founding ideals of the U.S., but not from the ideals of modern America.
"Congratulations to the people of the United States of America on your Independence Day. We are inspired by you, not by the ideals you hold now, but by the ideals you had in 1776 when you gained your freedom and built the foundations of your great country. We will follow that example. Happy 4th of July!" Bukele declared in a post.
— (@)
"This is one of many reasons why I love @NayibBukele," GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah tweeted in response to Bukele's post.
Bukele includes the words "Philosopher King" in his profile on X.
'He is the most inspirational head of state in the Western Hemisphere by far.'
A number of Americans attended Bukele's latest inauguration last month, among them, Lee, who tweeted, "In El Salvador for the inauguration of President Nayib Bukele. He defeated his principal opponent, Manuel Flores, in February’s presidential election. To the best of my knowledge, Bukele made no attempt to imprison Flores."
Lee wrote in another tweet, "Thank you, President Bukele, for a delightful afternoon and an engaging conversation. Sharon and I enjoyed every minute of our time with you, and of our visit to your beautiful country."
"That man loves his country," Lee said of Bukele.
"It was an honor to attend the inauguration of President @nayibbukele in El Salvador with @DonaldJTrumpJr @TuckerCarlson and countless conservatives who support President Bukele's bold vision. He is the most inspirational head of state in the Western Hemisphere by far," Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida tweeted last month.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Just in time for July 4, opinion piece suggests giving up fireworks, speaks of 'the conflation of selfishness with patriotism'
Scads of people around the nation are likley to enjoy dazzling fireworks displays later this week as they celebrate Independence Day, but in an opinion piece posted by the New York Times, contributing opinion writer Margaret Renkl suggested that people should give up the American tradition.
"The conflation of selfishness with patriotism is the thing I have the hardest time accepting about our political era. Maybe we have the right to eat a hamburger or drive the biggest truck on the market or fire off bottle rockets deep into the night on the Fourth of July, but it doesn’t make us good Americans to do such things. How can it possibly be 'American' to look at the damage that fireworks can cause — to the atmosphere, to forests, to wildlife, to our own beloved pets, to ourselves — and shrug?" Renkl wrote.
'We can eat more vegetables and less animal protein.'
She pointed out that the lound noises from fireworks frighten animals, like pet dogs, and can cause fires.
"We have no real way of knowing how many wild animals suffer because the patterns of their lives are disrupted with no warning every year on a night in early July," Renkl wrote. "And all that's on top of the dangers posed by fireworks debris, which can be toxic if ingested, or the risk of setting off a wildfire in parched summertime vegetation."
"It would be so easy to find a new way to celebrate the founding of a nation. So easy, at the very least, to limit fireworks to public celebrations meant to bring communities together. When those communities use low-noise fireworks, as well, they limit the stress on people and animals, and they mitigate some of the dangers to local wildlife," she asserted.
Renkl's piece also seemed to advocate for people to eat less meat and to set their thermostats to higher temperatures in the summer and lower temperatures in the winter.
"Addressing climate change and biodiversity loss on a planet with eight billion human residents won’t be simple," she wrote. "But there are easy things we can do at no real cost to ourselves. We can eat more vegetables and less animal protein. We can cultivate native plants. We can seek out products that aren’t packaged in plastic, spend less time in cars and airplanes, raise the thermostat in the summer and lower it in the winter."
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Americans Hit With Record-High July 4 Cookout Costs Thanks To Biden’s Rampant Inflation
Prices of individual goods have increased dramatically nationwide, with some seeing a “year-to-year double-digit increase.”Shocking (but also hilarious) leftist reactions to 4th of July
It should come as no surprise that many progressives sought to villainize this year’s Fourth of July celebrations.
Some called the holiday racist. Others called it sexist. Many pointed out the plight of the indigenous people.
The list goes on and on.
Lauren Chen, however, isn’t having it.
She slices their arguments to pieces, exposing them for what they are – utterly absurd.
Certainly Chen is aware of America’s shortcomings, but in no way do these overshadow the beauty that is the United States.
“Is America perfect?” she asks. “No, but is it the greatest nation on the planet?”
“If you ask me, the answer is hell yes.”
Chen’s rebuttal begins with one of America’s most beloved ice cream companies – Ben & Jerry’s – which, unfortunately, happens to be super woke.
On the Fourth, the company tweeted out:
“If they care this much about indigenous land rights, they could give their own land back that they own in Vermont … or they could donate all of their money to Native Americans,” Chen says.
But of course, they won’t do that.
What they likely will do, however, is figure out how to dig themselves out of the boycott grave that ensued as a result of their ridiculous tweet.
Chen then moves on to Cori Bush, the U.S. representative for Missouri's 1st Congressional District, who tweeted:
“If you are someone who believes the Declaration of Independence is a pro-slavery document or that the Constitution is a pro-slavery document, I’m just sorry. You do not understand the principles of America’s founding. You do not understand the beliefs that the founding fathers had,” Chen responds.
“People like Cori Bush,” she continues, “have so much hatred, so much resentment for America that they can’t even take one single day to celebrate everything that is good and right with America.”
Finally, Chen addresses the slew of hateful, divisive videos on TikTok – a “cesspool” of “radical, left-wing extremism,” she calls the platform.
One TikTok creator took it upon himself to rename the holiday, replacing "Independence" with the word “Colonizer.”
“Are you NOT celebrating Colonizer Day today?” he ignorantly spouts.
“Leftists are just so inconsistent with their rhetoric,” Chen says in response. “Simultaneously they want to call Americans colonizers because they’re not Native Americans but also immigrants because they want to make it seem like everyone’s an immigrant.”
Another TikToker says she’s always known that “if there was an American flag at [someone’s] house,” then inevitably “some racist-a** white mother-f*****s” lived there.
“There’s just so much stupidity in, like, twenty seconds,” says Chen in response to the videos.
This only scratches the surface of the uninformed and entirely nonsensical comments made about America’s Independence Day though.
To watch Chen destroy all these leftist arguments, watch the full clip below.
Want more from Lauren Chen?
To enjoy more of Lauren’s pro-liberty, pro-logic and pro-market commentary on social and political issues, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
Today's top stories
www.theblaze.com