FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

City to Host Grand Reopening and 4th of July Celebration of America at Hazel Ruby McQuain Park

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The newly renovated Hazel Ruby McQuain Park will be the site of this year's July 4th Celebration of America event.

The Park will open to the public at 4 p.m. The festivities will kick off with a grand reopening and ribbon cutting ceremony for the park at 5:30 p.m. followed by live bands, food trucks, and fireworks.

The grand reopening and ribbon cutting are the culmination of a $4.3 million renovation project at Hazel Ruby McQuain Park, Ruby Amphitheater, and the Walnut Street Landing, funded by the Hazel Ruby McQuain Charitable Trust. The renovations began in 2018 and took just over a year to complete. The renovations included expansions of the seating area and a large sunshade structure at Ruby Amphitheater, the realignment and lighting of the Caperton Rail-Trail, upgrades to the historic Morgantown train depot and creation of a plaza, a new Green Room and upgraded restroom facility, and enhancements and new amenities at the Walnut Street Landing including an accessible kayak launch.

The 4^th of July Celebration of America will begin at 6 p.m. with food truck vendors and live musical performances from The Nied’s Hotel Band, The New Relics, and Cody Clayton. A fireworks show will be held at 10 p.m. to complete the evening's festivities.

“With the shut-down of the park last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were not able to have the kind of community events and celebrations we had planned for,” said Vincent Kitch, the City of Morgantown’s Director of Arts and Cultural Development. “This year’s 4^th of July Celebration of America will be a great way to have the entire community come out to celebrate the grand reopening of this beautiful park and our first major concert and special event at the Ruby Amphitheater.”

The event is sponsored by the City of Morgantown and Citizen’s Bank of Morgantown. Other sponsors include the Monongalia County Commission and Main Street Morgantown’s Celebration of America Committee.

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