IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. — Irondequoit kicked off its 50th annual Fourth of July Festival on Wednesday morning with a reading of the Declaration of Independence.

The festivities on Wednesday and Thursday are taking place at the town hall on 1280 Titus Ave. Town supervisor Andrae Evans says the celebration is an important part of remembering where we come from.

“We do this annually and we do this with passion. We do it because it’s a good reminder of who we are as Americans,” he said.

The festival includes children’s activities, live music, fireworks, a parade, a 10K race, and more. Here is the schedule for Wednesday:

• Local artists will sell at a craft fair at the town hall campus. It runs from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. in front of the library.
• There will be street dancing on Titus Avenue from Portland Ave. to Kings Highway from 7 to 11 p.m. Atlas, a nine-piece band, will perform a mix of classic hits and contemporary favorites.
• The music lineup this year includes Downtown Men from noon to 3 p.m., Jumbo Shrimp from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., and B.B. Dang from 7 to 10:30 p.m.
• Children’s activities include a bounce house, lawn games, and gaga ball from noon to 4 p.m. There is also a kid’s zone with inflatables from 4 to 9 p.m.

Here is the schedule for Thursday:

• Irondequoit’s 2-mile race starts at 8 a.m. and the 10K starts five minutes after that. Both races begin at Christ the King Church and end at Irondequoit Town Hall. You can register here.
• The Fourth of July Parade will begin at 11 a.m. at Irondequoit High School and end at the town hall campus.
• There will be a watermelon eating contest at 2 p.m.
• The kids zone inflatables will be available from 2 to 6 p.m.
• Local artists will sell at a craft fair at the town hall campus. It runs from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. in front of the library.
• Irondequoit’s fireworks show will begin at 9:30 p.m. at the town hall lawn. For the first time, there will be music accompanying the fireworks.

You can see the complete schedule here.