There’ll be music, a children’s parade, high school majorettes and, of course, plenty of fireworks when Selma residents are treated to an old-fashioned Fourth of July celebration Thursday at Memorial Stadium.

“We’ve entitled our program ‘Selma Salutes the USA, United We Stand,'” said Patty Sexton, with the city’s community development office. “There’s going to be a community-led patriotic concert followed by a choreographed fireworks-sky program.

“It’s going to be a very family-oriented celebration of our country’s independence and this community.”

For those who’ve never seen one, a choreographed sky program is one in which the fireworks are synchronized to go off in time to music – in this case, patriotic music.

“Oh say, can you see (boom), by the dawn’s early (boom) light (boom). And the rocket’s red glare (boom) the bombs bursting in air (boom, boom, boom). … ” You get the idea.

“This is the first year we’ve done this. We’re pretty excited,” Sexton said.

This is the second year the city has sponsored the annual Fourth of July celebration. This year promises to be a much more ambitious effort than previous shows.

“With everything that’s happened in the last year, what with September 11th and all, we felt the community needed an opportunity to come together,” Sexton said. “We felt the patriotism that’s been generated from those events has been a really good thing, and we wanted to expand on that.”

The stadium opens at 6 p.m. and the program begins at 7:45 p.m. Mike Reynolds of radio station WDXX-WHBB will be the master of ceremonies. An Alabama National Guard color guard will present the flag, and – meddlesome federal court rulings notwithstanding – there will also be an opening prayer.

A special section will be set aside to honor veterans, firefighters and law enforcement personnel.

A children’s parade will be led by the Selma High School majorettes. Katie Veach and Ben Obomanu, Selma’s Girl and Boy of the Year, will each perform a patriotic reading.

Gordon Welch, minister of music at First Baptist Church, will conduct the Selma Civic Chorus, followed by a crowd sing-along of popular patriotic standards. And don’t worry if you’re a little fuzzy about the third verse of “America the Beautiful.”

“We’ll be passing out fans with the words to the songs printed on the back,” Sexton said.

The program will close with the national anthem, followed by the fireworks.

The music used to choreograph the sky program will be broadcast over the stadium’s public address system. For those who prefer to view the show from some choice spot outside the stadium, the music will also be broadcast on WDXX-WHBB.

Sexton urged fireworks fans to find a seat inside the stadium, however, explaining, “We’re going to have a number of special fireworks displays that won’t be visible to anyone outside the stadium. The best seat in the house will be in Memorial Stadium.”

And the best part is it’s free. But she cautioned those planning to attend not to bring any personal fireworks, noting that Selma has a city ordinance against discharging fireworks within the city limits.