Honky-Tonk Circus to headline George Fourth festivities

GEORGE — For a town of barely 1,000 people, George hosts a whopping Fourth of July Celebration, as befits a community named for the Father of the Country. 

“There were 6,000 people in the park in the course of the day (last year),” said George Community Hall Manager Debby Kooy. 

This year, being the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the George Community Hall is expecting an even bigger turnout. The festivities will include all the things locals have come to expect from George, from the fun run to the parade to the enormous cherry pie.  

“We've increased our budget for fireworks,” said Elliott Kooy. “A pretty big jump to provide a bigger fireworks show for the 250th.” 

The morning will start with a pancake breakfast at the community center, followed by the Cherry Bomb Fun Run and the parade on Montmorency Boulevard, according to the Ceorge Community Center’s website. At 11 a.m. there will be a patriotic program at the outdoor stage. Veterans Operation Creation will sing the national anthem for that, said member Tom Parrish, as well as three or four other patriotic songs. The American Legion will raise the flag and give the traditional 21-gun salute. 

The guest speaker will be Isaiah Schaapman, a high school student who participated in a patriotic essay contest sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary, said Debby Kooy. He didn’t win, she said, but he did well enough that the organizers asked him to speak. 

There will be musical entertainment throughout the day as well, including a performance by Los Vega de Ucacuaro and two shows by The Campground Boys, a kind of bluegrass supergroup, Debby Kooy said. 

“Some of (the Campground Boys) come from way up north by Blaine, some are Seattle-based.They’ve been here for the (George Bluegrass Festival),” Debby Kooy said. “They’ve performed with lots of other bands; they’re not professional musicians but they’re exceptional in their ability, so I’m very excited to have them here.” 

This year, because of the country’s 250th anniversary, there will be a headline performance by country musicians Jeremy McComb and the Honky-Tonk Circus, sponsored by Veterans Operation Creation. 

“The George Community Hall normally puts on the whole thing, but the VOC came to us and said ‘Can we participate in the music part and provide extra special entertainment?’" Elliott Kooy said. 

McComb, based in Post Falls, Idaho, has played in the Basin before, Parrish said, including headlining at the 2025 Grant County Fair. His Honky-Tonk Circus is described in promotional materials as “a two-hour, high-voltage collision of memory, music, lights, and pure country adrenaline.” 

McComb and his Honky-Tonk Circus play mostly country music from the 1990s, including songs by Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, Toby Keith and more, according to the promotional materials.  

That performance is the only part of the George celebration that comes with an admission price. Tickets are $40, but veterans and active military are admitted free. 

VOC has brought other entertainers to the Basin in the past, including an Elvis impersonator and a revived USO show featuring music from the World War II era. Last November, VOC sponsored a Veterans Day concert with country recording star Coffey Anderson. They would have liked to get Anderson again this year, Parrish said, but Anderson canceled many of his bookings for the year due to a family situation. McCombs was available and puts on an energetic but family-friendly show, Parrish said. 

“If he comes early enough, we'll put him in the parade,” he said.

    George Elementary School students march in a previous Fourth of July Parade in George.
  

    George’s Fourth of July wouldn’t be complete without the enormous 64-square-foot cherry pie.