Local venues are gearing up for big crowds expected during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Friday night Winchester Parks and Recreation will host the Winchester Community Fireworks at Jim Barnett Park. A pool party is scheduled for Noon until nine. There will be inflatable rides for the kids and food from six until nine. Fireworks will begin at 9:20 p.m.

Brad Veach, parks and recreation director says the $10,000 fireworks show wouldn't have been possible without the sponsors. "What we wanted to do was provide the community with something they could be proud of, they could feel like they were getting away from normalcy, but they could stay local and be able to enjoy some fun things," says Veach. Veach expects between 5,000 and 8,000 people to attend the events.

The annual Independence Day Celebration in Sherando Park is this Saturday. The event includes a family fun day, live music, and of course fireworks around 9:30.

Event organizers are expecting between 10,000 and 20,000 people. "We start planning for July 4th on July 5th of the previous year, just as soon as we're tearing everything down, and it's a full year of getting everything lined up, and getting the format. This year we have some changes going on with the family fun time from four to seven," says Jon Turkel of the Frederick County Parks and Recreation.

The Frederick County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone who is not planning to attend Sherando Park's Fourth of July events to avoid the area. They want to avoid traffic congestion around the park.