walking dangerous and have slowed access for emergency vehicles.

walking dangerous and have slowed access for emergency vehicles.

A large parking lot is located next to the Washington Volunteer Fire Department, attended parking is available there for $2 a car. The proceeds from that lot will benefit the fire department.

Beginning at 9:30 a.m., a shuttle will run from the lot into town, or for energetic visitors, the festival on Gay St. is only a short walk up Warren Ave. from the fire department.

Mr. Fisher asked that anyone parking in the town please be considerate of the residents and businesses, and refrain from blocking driveways or entrances to shops and homes.

As darkness falls, however, traffic will gradually slow to a standstill in anticipation of the annual fireworks display on the grounds of Avon Hall.

For the 29th year, William Carrigan will open his property to the residents and friends of Rappahannock County, inviting them to join him in the celebration of our Independence.

Mr. Carrigan began the tradition in 1961, continuing a practice he and his wife Ramona had began at their home on the Chesapeake Bay. They had always invited friends to enjoy a private fireworks display at their home.

When they bought Avon Hall, they brought the practice here. But there was a difference. When they began setting off the display, the neighbors gathered, and by the time it was done, cars lined Warren Ave. watching the fireworks.

Mr. Carrigan said he realized then that the display couldn’t be private anymore, and the next year he graciously invited the county to join him for the celebration. It has grown and become as much a part of Rappahannock County as the Fodderstack Road Race in the spring.

Several years ago, the Town of Washington took over production of the evening program, and the task of organizing the fireworks display was passed from the Hubert Gilkey family, which set off the pyrotechnics for many years, to Mayor Dean Morehouse and his crew.

“It’s not a complicated job,” Mr.