Five Things You Need To Know, Fourth of July Edition

Here's a patriotic digital checklist for Monday, July 4.

1. Spend the Evening in Lilburn: Catch that small-town patriotic feeling tonight in with its , beginning at 6:30 p.m. Surf music by StratoGeezer (yes, that’s their name) and The Surge (from Lilburn!) will be followed by a “modest” fireworks display, according to the mayor. . Bring some rain gear, just in case (see below).
2. Your Official Fourth of July Forecast: The Lilburn Patch HQ Weather Center says foul weather is not allowed on Independence Day, but if you need a second (and third) opinion, here you go. Weather.com says it’ll be 93 with a 50-percent chance of precipitation; WeatherBug says low-90s and a 40-percent chance. Before you go, maybe check out the local radar here.
3. Rather Stay Home? Worth your attention on the telly is “A Capitol Fourth” on PBS, 90 minutes of music and an awesome fireworks display (it’s in HD, so it’s pretty cool) from the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol. See it live on GPB (Channel 8) at 8 p.m., followed by a replay at 9:30 p.m. You can check out the Lilburn fireworks, then catch the 11:30 p.m. replay on WPBA (Channel 30).
4. History Lesson: Button Gwinnett, the namesake of our county, is well-known as being one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. But did you know there were two others from Georgia — Lyman Hall and Georgia Walton? Interesting that two our neighboring counties are Hall and Walton counties.
5. History Lesson, Part II: The Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 (we’re 235 years old, y’all), but many other significant moments in history also occurred on the Fourth of July. Declaration of Independence signers John Adams (second U.S. president) and Thomas Jefferson (third U.S. president) both died on the same day (1826); fifth U.S. president James Monroe died (1831); the Statue of Liberty was offered to the U.S. by France (1886); the patent was granted for the chain reaction design that led to the atomic bomb (1934); New York Yankees great Lou Gehrig retired with one of baseball’s most memorable speeches (1936); President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Freedom of Information Act (1966). For more July 4th milestones, click here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_4