At a time when other community festivals are drying up or scaling back, Puyallup is starting up a new Fourth of July tradition – its own downtown fireworks display and festival at the Puyallup fairgrounds.

The celebration, called CityBlast, is sponsored primarily by Foursquare Church in Puyallup. It will feature children’s activities, a stage show, fireworks and a 5K Run sponsored by the Tacoma-Pierce County YMCA.

Other South Sound communities from Kent to Tumwater are putting on fireworks shows and festivals as they have in years past.

Sarah Franklin, spokeswoman for Foursquare Church, said church officials thought the Puyallup community could use its own Independence Day celebration, especially given how many military families live in the area.

“With such a great community here in Puyallup, we’ve been noticing there’s nothing in the area to celebrate the Fourth of July,” Franklin said Tuesday. “So we wanted to create something.”

Organizers hope to make the celebration an annual tradition, she said, possibly turning it into an all-day event that involves local businesses.

The evening festival will include face painting, balloon animals and inflatable play structures. After that, the church has organized an hour-long entertainment lineup at the Puyallup Fair Grandstand, which will feature a tribute to the nation’s armed forces.

The evening will conclude with a fireworks display at 10 p.m.

City of Puyallup spokeswoman Glenda Carino said the city is glad to see a Fourth of July celebration come to downtown Puyallup.

She said she’s not sure when Puyallup last had a fireworks display or Fourth of July festival. The Meeker Mansion downtown has held ice cream socials in recent years, she said, but that’s about it.

“As a city we haven’t had a fireworks display, because it costs money to do that,” Carino said Tuesday. “Foursquare Church took the ball and ran with it, and we’re happy about that. It will be something for families to do in Puyallup.”

Franklin said event organizers aren’t sure how many people to expect, but most of the church’s 3,000 members will be attending or helping out, she said.

Melissa Santos: 253-552-7058

melissa.santos@thenewstribune.com

Puyallup CityBlast

When: Saturday starting at 6 p.m. with a run at 6:30 a.m.

Where: Puyallup Fair and Events Center, Ninth Avenue Southwest and South Meridian Street, Puyallup

Event schedule: 6-9 p.m., kids’ inflatable fun zone and play area; 9-10 p.m., stage show; 10 p.m., fireworks

Registration for 5K run begins at 6:30 a.m. at the fairgrounds.

Admission: $5 per person

MORE FUN ON THE FOURTH

Tacoma’s Freedom Fair

When: Saturday, starting at 10 a.m.

Where: Ruston Way waterfront in Tacoma

Air show: 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Fireworks: 10:10 p.m. start

Suggested donation: $1 for kids under 18, $5 for adults, $10 for families

AROUND the SOUTH SOUND

Auburn: Festival, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Les Gove Community Park, 1005 12th St. S.E.

DuPont: Pancake breakfast, parade and carnival, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Clocktower Park, 1408 Palisade Blvd.

Eatonville: Downtown festival, 6 to 9 p.m. Friday; Community parade, noon Saturday, downtown

Enumclaw: Festival and parade, noon to 4 p.m., downtown on Cole Street; fireworks at the Enumclaw Expo Center at dusk

Federal Way: Festival and fireworks, 6 p.m.-dusk, Celebration Park, 1095 S. 324th St.

Fort Lewis: Carnival, festival and fireworks, open to the public, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Cowan Stadium

Kent: Festival and fireworks, noon-11 p.m., Lake Meridian Park, 14800 S.E. 272nd St.

Steilacoom: Festival, parade and fireworks, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., Lafayette Street, downtown.

Tumwater: Parade begins at 11 a.m. at corner of Capitol Blvd. and Lee Street; festival and fireworks, 6 to 10 p.m., Tumwater Valley Golf Course, 4611 Tumwater Valley Drive S.E.