Question 1

AEG, The City of Austin, FreedomFest, Austin Enhancement Group, the Chamber... who is who?

Accepted Answer

Good question!

FreedomFest or The Freedom Festival is the 4th of July event held in Bandshell Park on July 3rd and 4th.

The Austin Enhancement Group (AEG) is the all-volunteer non-profit that has organized the FreedomFest events in Bandshell Park since 2020.

The City of Austin graciously donates the use of Bandshell Park and other Resources so that AEG can put on FreedomFest for our community.  They also contract with Flashing Thunder for the 4th of July Fireworks display.

The Chamber used to organize FreedomFest, but not since 2019.  The Chamber DOES organize the parade, however.  You can contact them for more information: info@austincoc.com

Question 2

Parade:   When? Where? Weather? Can I be in it?

Accepted Answer

The Parade is wholly organized and run by the Austin Area Chamber of Commerce, so if you have more questions, please contact them at 507.437.4561 or email them at info@austincoc.com

When: The Chamber of Commerce holds the Parade on July 4th at 10:00am.  Note: the start time changed to 10:00am in 2026.

Where: The parade route begins on North Main Street, near the Swimming Pool. The end/disbursement area is along Lafayette and Marcusen parks on the south end of Main Street.

Weather: The Chamber of Commerce runs the parade and they make parade/weather related decisions. 
Please contact the Chamber of Commerce if you have questions about the parade and if it will take place. FreedomFest does not have access to that information.

How can I be in the Parade? Call the Chamber of Commerce at  507.437.4561 or email them at info@austincoc.com

Question 3

What if the weather looks bad?

Accepted Answer

Ahhh, the weather.  The one thing we can't plan for and the one thing that stresses our volunteers out the most!  :) Our all-volunteer crew puts SO much work into this event, and we want the weather to be as great as you do!  
If it happens that the normal event operations are affected by weather, we will make announcements on our Facebook Page, as well as ask traditional media (and you!) to help spread the word.

If it's raining or the weather is similarly poor, we will generally pause some park activities and re-start if/when the weather clears enough to do so. Often times, some activities can keep going like Bingo in the Pavilion, and music under the tent(s), food trucks, etc.  This is all dependent upon weather conditions, future forecast, volunteers, etc.

In the instance of severe/extremely inclement weather,  we may opt to shut down all operations and ask people to leave the park.

Again:  If it happens that the normal event operations are affected by such weather, we will make announcements on our Facebook Page, as well as asking traditional media to help spread the word.

Please note: the Parade is run by the Austin Area Chamber of Commerce; the FreedomFestival organizers have no input or access to the parade information.  If you are wondering about the parade and inclement weather, please contact the Chamber of Commerce: 507.437.4561 or email them at info@austincoc.com

Question 4

What about the fireworks and bad weather?

Accepted Answer

The City of Austin contracts with Flashing Thunder to put on the fireworks for the city celebration.

Flashing Thunder is a professional fireworks outfit and they keep a close eye on the weather to see if it will affect their operations.  They coordinate with the City of Austin if there is an issue.

Flashing Thunder and the City of Austin will let Freedom Festival organizers know if there are any weather issues and we will help communicate their plan via our social media.

We (AEG/FreedomFest) do not make that decision, but we will communicate whatever we know to the public as soon as we know it.  The quickest way for us to do this is via our Facebook Page.

The City of Austin and Flashing Thunder do have a prearranged rain date of July 5th for the fireworks.

If the July 5th rain date is also impacted by bad weather, the City of Austin will reschedule the fireworks to a later date and announce that date when they have arranged it.

Question 5

What about the drone show and bad weather?

Accepted Answer

Aerial Illuminations is the professional drone company and they keep a close eye on the weather to see if it will affect their operations.  They make that call and they will coordinate with AEG/Freedom Festival if it cannot happen for some reason.
If there is a reason that the show cannot go on, will communicate whatever we know to the public as soon as we know it.  The quickest way for us to do this is via our Facebook Page.

If the drone show cannot go on as scheduled for some reason, it will be rescheduled to another, mutually agreed-upon date.

Question 6

The weather looks bad for the event today.  Why don't you just reschedule for tomorrow when it looks nice?

Accepted Answer

Unfortunately, that's a case of 'easier said than done.'  
Each day of the event has over 100 points of contact (for example, vendors, music, volunteers, food, security, etc.) and those points of contact spiderweb out from there (for example, the Symphony is one point of contact, but they have many performers).  It would be a huge undertaking to get SO many people to pivot quickly. Vendors and food trucks often have back-to-back events and might not be able to stay another day.  The same goes for activities like inflatbles and petting zoos, bands, etc. Streets are closed off only for a specific period of time based on the permits we have submitted. Volunteers sign up for a shift on a specific day/time, so they might not be able to make it, so we wouldn't have anyone to help staff the event if we rescheduled to another day.

Why don't you just build in another day as an automatic rain date?  
The biggest issue with this idea is that it would simply be too costly.  If we booked all of the activities and musical acts for the 4th and required them to also block out another date as a rain date, we would have to pay double, since they couldn't book another gig with someone else on our rain date.

Bottom line, is that the weather is something we can't control.  We volunteers do our best to plan for the best Freedom Festival we can, and we just have to make do with what Mother Nature decides to give us on those days :)

Question 7

Where is Bandshell Park?

Accepted Answer

At the intersection of Fourth St SW & Ninth Pl SW, Austin, MN 55912

Question 8

How can I participate in the Little Miss Sparkler/Firecracker Pageant?

Accepted Answer

Pre-registration is required since there is a limited number of participants allowed (for time constraints).  More information regarding registration is found here: https://www.freedomfestaustin.com/miss-sparkler-mr-firecracker

Question 9

Where do we park?

Accepted Answer

There  is free parking available in the greenspace on the East side of Main  street, across the street from Bandshell Park (next to the Dog Park).   Parking will be marked in the grass. 
​
Handicapped Accessible Parking is in the cul-de-sac at the end of First Street, as well as in the greenspace lot on the East Side of Main Street.

Question 10

Who puts on the Freedom Festival?

Accepted Answer

The volunteers of the Austin Enhancement Group. AEG  is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the community by  facilitating family-friendly events, entertainment, and/or celebrations  for all citizens of Austin and the surrounding areas.
 
AEG  was first formed when Austin's 4th of July celebration needed a group  to take over the planning and organization.  AEG is made up of a group  of volunteers who love the Freedom Festival and couldn't imagine a 4th  of July without our community celebration!  These volunteers give their time, talents, and resources to fund raise, plan, organize and execute  activities and entertainment for Austin's 4th of July Freedom Festival.

Question 11

What is the schedule of events?

Accepted Answer

https://www.freedomfestaustin.com/schedule-of-events

Question 12

Is there going to be a shuttle again?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Thanks to some amazing community members who are volunteering their time, we will have a golf cart that will run up and down 9th place (from the top of Skinner's Hill to Main Street) helping to shuttle people back and forth.  There is also a golf cart that runs from the Handicapped parking lot cul de sac to the end of the food court.  This shuttle service ends at 8pm. 
Why not longer?  A couple of reasons: Once the fireworks are done, the capacity of the golf carts are so minimal that people would be waiting for rides for a very long time.  Also, they cannot run in the dark in such a crowded environment, with no running lights.  Lastly, we want our volunteers to have a break, too!  :)  We are thankful that community members offer their time to help out and make everyone's experience the best it can be!

Question 13

How can I volunteer?

Accepted Answer

We'd love the help!  
The Austin Enhancement Group is a small-but-mighty group of volunteers that spends the entire year fundraising and planning for the Festival (also Hometown Christmas and Highwater Music Series).  
If you're interested in helping on the year-round committee, send us an email at info@austinenhancementgroup.com.  If you're interested in helping at the Freedom Festival event (set up, event, tear down, etc.), you can visit the United Way Get Connected website, where we post our volunteer needs for each year's Festival: https://uwmower.galaxydigital.com/need/

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