Kingsport Parks and Recreation is now accepting registrations for the 2024 Fall Youth Baseball and Softball Leagues.

You can register your child in T-Ball (5-6), Coach Pitch Softball (7-8) and Machine Pitch Baseball (9-10) from July 5 through July 24. Machine Pitch Baseball (10-12) and Baseball (11-12) can register beginning July 19 through August 7.

Children must be of age as of August 15, 2024. The registration fee is $30 per player (excluding the price of a jersey and hat). After the deadline, a late fee of $15 will be assessed.

To register, please visit https://bit.ly/4bChF8Y. You can also register by clicking on the CivicRec link in the Connect Kingsport app or go to www.kingsporttn.gov and click on “CivicRec,” then search for “fall youth” in the search bar.

All games will be played at Domtar Park. The season will begin the week of August 14.

Participants must live inside the Kingsport city limits, attend Kingsport City Schools and/or own Kingsport city property to be eligible to participate.

For more information, visit www.kingsportparksandrecreation.org or call 423-229-9459.

The City of Kingsport is getting into the Christmas Spirit early this year by hosting a special “Christmas in July” event at the Kingsport Carousel next week.

Christmas in July will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 10 at the Kingsport Carousel (320 Clinchfield Street). Anyone (child or adult) wearing Christmas attire will receive one free ride on the carousel.

Christmas decorations will be up all day and snow will be falling in Carousel Park from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with free popsicles for everyone (while supplies last).

The Dobyns-Bennett High School Spirit Shakers will also be on hand from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for free face painting for the kids.

For more information on the Kingsport Carousel, please visit EngageKingsport.com, or call 423-392-8414.

Kingsport Cultural Arts and the Tri Cities Civil War Round Table are co-sponsoring “A Civil War Evening” next week in the Renaissance Center Theatre.

The event – “Songs and Stories from the Civil War Era” – will be performed by Bobby Horton, one of the country’s leading authorities of music from the Civil War era. The two-hour event will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on July 8 in the Kingsport Renaissance Center Theatre (1200 E. Center Street).

Horton is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, and music historian, who has performed with the musical – comedy trio, Three On A String, throughout The United States and Canada for more than 50 years.

He has also produced and performed music scores for nineteen PBS films by Ken Burns including “The Civil War,” and “Baseball,” two films for the A&E network, twenty-three films for The National Park Service, and many others. Horton’s series of recordings of authentic period music has been acclaimed by historical organizations and publications throughout America and Europe.

Tickets for the event are $10 each and can be purchased at the Fun Fest store in the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce (400 Clinchfield Street).

For more information about the event, please visit https://bit.ly/4f2jSNV or contact Wayne Strong with the Tri-Cities Civil War Round Table at 423-367-4545 or trustwrks@aol.com.

The City of Kingsport is celebrating Independence Day on July 4 with the Mack Riddle American Legion Independence Day Parade. The parade begins at 10 a.m. and will go down Center Street from Wateree Street to Memorial Park on Fort Henry Drive.

In order to accommodate this event, several roads will be closed beginning the morning of July 4 and continuing until the conclusion of the parade.

• Center Street from Sullivan Street to Fort Henry Drive.
• Fort Henry Drive from Center Street to Eastman Road.
• Wilcox Drive will be closed at Sevier Avenue.

Detour routes will be available for drivers on Sevier Avenue and Watauga and Sullivan Streets. All streets leading into Center Street along the route will be closed as needed.

Other festivities taking place on Saturday include the Red, White and Boom event on Main Street beginning at 5 p.m. and concluding with a fireworks display at approximately 9:45 p.m. For more information go to visitkingsport.com/redwhiteboom.