Marietta Churches Get Jump-Start on Fourth Celebrations

1. The East West Church Worship Center has a massive six-hour celebration of our nation's independence ready for you today, complete with patriotic and Christian music that runs from jazz to rock and roll to funk. The event runs from 4 to 10 p.m. with the church's own Spiritjazz Orchestra performing at 6:30 p.m. A fireworks display completes the evening.

For information about this free event, call 770-435-1152.

2. The First United Methodist Church of Marietta begins its Fourth of July festivities at 7 p.m. today with a Summertime Pops! concert featuring patriotic classics from Broadway and beyond with the Georgia Symphony Orchestra. The free concert will be held in the church amphitheater. For information, call 770-429-7016 or go to georgiasymphony.org.

3. The tennis center at today sponsors the Firecracker Open, a USTA-sanctioned adult tournament that will be played in a single day. Go here for details of this "Quick Play" event. Call the center at 770.656.3280 for information or visit www.tennisdynamics.net.

4. Why wait until September to get your tickets to the 79th North Georgia State Fair. Advanced tickets became available this weekend at considerable discounts. Advanced tickets are $3.50 for adults, $1 for students ages 7 to 18 and $11 for a book of 22 ride tickets, a savings of about 50 percent. Postage and handling is $1. Visit www.northgeorgiastatefair.com or call 770-423-1330 for information.

5. Today marks one of the Roswell UFO Days, when the infamous New Mexico city celebrates its alien connections. The Roswell UFO Festival encompasses the entire weekend and invites believers and skeptics alike to debate one of the most curious incidents of the 20th century.

In July 1947, a mysterious object crashed on a ranch 30 miles north of Roswell and led to the Roswell Army Air Field issuing a statement about its recovery of a "flying disk." After news reports covered the incident, officials changed the statement to say it was a weather balloon, thus kicking off more than 60 years of debates.