After a year off, Coal Grove will have Family Fun Days at Paul Porter Park before the Fourth of July holiday this year.

“We are actually very excited by it, just to have an event for the village again,” said Coal Grove Mayor Gary Sherman. “Man, it’s been a long, boring haul for everybody, you know. And we’re super excited to have a firework show again, that’s capped in stone. We will be shooting fireworks from the ball field as usual.”

Fun Days is July 1, 2 and 3 and the fireworks will be on July 3 at 10 p.m.

He said they are going to have a lot of the same vendors at the park that they have had in the past.

“But there are going to be a number of new faces, new types of vendors,” he said, adding that they will be focusing on things for the kids.

One change this year is the events at the park will run from 5–10 p.m. each day.

They will also have live music on all three days.

“We kept it local this year, so we have a lot of talented local bands,” said Jay Sherman of the Coal Grove Betterment Club. Among the bands that will be playing are Bad Habitz, Aaron Mallory Band, Tyler Waller, Christian rock band 3 Days Under, 6th Gear, Cole Gannon and The Whipps.

One new addition this year is a new marker at the park to honor soldiers.

“We are going to have a new flag pole with it. Buckeye Monument is making the marker, it is going to be dedicated to Purple Heart recipients,” Gary Sherman said.

Jay Sherman said that the first person to be honored there is Curtis Crum, who was killed in action in 1968.

“He’s never been recognized before and he was from Coal Grove,” he said. “We are doing it for him and there are some others that we are going to put on there. We’re just starting this.”

The ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. on July 3.