From the Bartow Winds patriotic concert to the Stars, Stripes & Cartersville celebration, there are a bevy of entertaining events on tap in downtown Cartersville for the Fourth of July weekend.

"I love [patriotic] music. So the Bartow Winds concert is a great opportunity to come out and experience that and just have a fun evening picnic with your family, or dine in downtown Cartersville, and then enjoy the music," said Cartersville-Bartow County Convention & Visitors Bureau Deputy Director Regina Wheeler about the Friday concert. "The [Tom Clayton Memorial] Car Cruise [on Saturday], of course, that is complete Americana. We all love our cars and that just kind of seems to goes hand-in-hand with the holiday.

"[Then there will be] more great music with the concert series and then of course Stars and Stripes [is] a great event to go out to the park, whether you're barbecuing with your family or enjoying the food that they offer there and the activities. It's always a great day."

On Friday at 7 p.m., the festivities will kick off with the Bartow Winds Concert Band's third annual "Celebration of Independence." Held at Friendship Plaza, beside the Cartersville depot, the performance will be admission free, but donations will be accepted to help the Ringgold middle and high school band programs rebuild after suffering extensive tornado damage.

"It's a patriotic concert, so we're going to keep 'The Stars and Stripes Forever,' 'National Anthem,' [and music] like that," said Bartow Winds Conductor Michael Elzey. "But we're adding a little bit of a twist to it in putting in three pieces that's style of music is centered around the Civil War, just in honor of this year being the 150th anniversary of [the start of] the Civil War.

"These three are going to be 'The Blue and the Gray,' which is a Civil War medley, 'Kentucky 1800' and then another piece titled,'The Great Locomotive Chase.' And we are going to actually have a guest conductor for that one, which will be Mr. Robert Carter. It's always fun to do these [types of concerts] simply because this is music that everybody knows ... [and] everybody enjoys."

Saturday evening, Cartersville will continue to be a hot spot for entertainment, with the Tom Clayton Memorial Car Cruise at 5 p.m. and the Downtown Cartersville Summer Concert Series from 5 to 7 p.m. Held at Friendship Plaza, the free admission concert will feature The Parrot Island Band, a musical act specializing in Jimmy Buffett songs.

On Monday, the Stars, Stripes & Cartersville parade, presented by the Cartersville Morning Optimist Club and WBHF radio, will wind its way through Cartersville at 9 a.m. After lining up at 7:30 a.m., the entrants will depart from Tabernacle Baptist Church's parking lot then turn right on Church Street, left on Bartow Street, left on Main Street, left on Stonewall Street, left on East Church Street, ending back at the church.

Following the parade, the daylong festivities will continue at 10 a.m. at Dellinger Park in Cartersville with arts and crafts, children's activities, food vendors and live entertainment. A firework display will conclude the program at nightfall, courtesy of the Optimist Club and the city of Cartersville.