CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, NY - The 4th of July is upon us, which means it’s time once again to celebrate our country’s birthday. When you really think about it, you couldn’t ask for a better time of year to celebrate. Sometimes I wonder if the founding fathers planned to sign the Declaration of Independence the fist week in July just so future Americans would be able to fully mark the occasion with parades, fireworks, barbecues, outdoor picnics and live musical entertainment. Surely they must have had some forethought, because having an Independence Day celebration any other time of the year would seem un-American.

The Great Blue Heron Music Festival is July 1 - 3. (Star file photo)

Anyway, there’s a whole lot of entertainment happening once again during the long 4th of July weekend, starting with an event that is now celebrating it’s 20th year in operation: The Great Blue Heron Music Festival in Sherman, N.Y.

The first Blue Heron took place in 1992 on a small piece of privately owned land in Sherman with a handful of local and regional musicians and their fans getting together the first weekend in July. Since then its grown to become the most anticipated annual music event in Chautauqua County, with thousands of residents and visitors coming to the Sherman area.

My first Blue Heron experience was in 1995. Since then, I’ve been to several others and can attest that while the musicians get a lot of attention, the recognition needs to go the organizers and the countless volunteers who help to make everything run smoothly. Without their hard work and dedication there wouldn’t be Heron.

This year’s Heron will again feature some of the regular festival mainstays such as Donna the Buffalo (who’s performed in every single Heron since the first one in 1992) along with the Town Pants, the Horse Flies, Big Leg Emma and Smackdab. The festival will also feature two of my favorite local bands – The Bogarts (performing Sat., July 2 at 1 p.m.) and Thee Audience (performing Friday, July 1 at 7:30 p.m.). A complete line up of bands can be found on at the Blue Heron website.

If you haven’t made any plans for the upcoming weekend and you enjoy live music in a cool, countryside setting, you will definitely want to attend this year’s Blue Heron. You can buy a pass for the weekend or get a one-day pass for Friday, Saturday or Sunday. For more information, visit www.greatblueheron.com.

In addition to the Blue Heron Music Festival, several communities throughout the county will also be holding their own Independence Day celebration, complete with live music and Fireworks. Two of the biggest take place in Dunkirk and Mayville but other communities will have celebrations as well, including Findley Lake, Cassadaga and Lakewood.

Other entertainment options in the county include the first ever Fritz Seamens Memorial race at Stateline Speedway in Busti. The event is held to honor the late, long-time owner and operator of Stateline, Fritz Seamens, who passed away last fall. The event is Saturday, July 2 with fireworks following the final 55-lap race! The Jamestown Jammers also have a home series Friday, Saturday and Sunday with Fireworks following Saturday Night’s game.

Thee Audience’s new album “All at Once” will be released some time in July. (Album cover by Justin Netti/courtesy of Thee Audience)

Finally, getting back to Thee Audience, they’ve got a new album coming out this month entitled All At Once. I’ve been fortunate to hear a couple of the tracks that will appear on the album and if they are any indication, this is something any local music fan will want to get their hands on immediately. In addition to the original songs from the Jamestown-based music veterans, the new album will also feature covers from Tears for Fears and the Pixies.

For those of you unfortunate enough to still be unfamiliar with Thee Audience, you can find their 2007 debut album Below and Beyond available for download at www.theeaudience.bandcamp.com. Hopefully I will have more details on their bands new album once it is released and will pass them along to you right here in the is column.

That does it for this week. Regardless of what your Independence Day plans are, make sure you have a happy and safe Fourth of July Weekend (and please remember to thank our founding fathers signing the Declaration of Independence in July rather than some other month, because it’s hard to have an outdoor music festival, fireworks or family barbeque in, say, January).

Jason Sample is a marketing and media consultant in Jamestown, N.Y. His past work includes working as a news and sports reporter for WJTN 1240 AM, an on-air personality for WQFX 103.1 FM, and a writer and editor for the Chautauqua Star. Questions, comments and suggestions can be sent to jpsmarketingsolutions@gmail.com.