Bring the family together at Lake Junaluska to make memories this Independence Day
July 1-4, 2022
Lake Junaluska’s annual Independence Day Celebration features a weekend of family-friendly fun — from concerts to fireworks to floating wish lanterns. The holiday weekend will be full of activities as well as time to soak up summer enjoying the lakeside swimming pool, a round of golf or mini golf, a cruise on the Cherokee IV pontoon boat or a canoe, kayak or paddleboard rental. The annual celebration is made possible with support from Visit NC Smokies (Plan Your Trip!) and our Friends of the Lake Sponsors.
Accommodations can be booked now at the lakeside Terrace Hotel and historic Lambuth Inn.
To book lodging at Lake Junaluska, call 800-222-4930 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or book online.
2022 Schedule of Events
Friday, July 1
8:45 p.m. | Floating Wish Lanterns on the Lake
View the full list of 2022 Lake Junaluska Floating Wish Lantern Dedications.
Saturday, July 2
8:30 a.m. | Morning Devotion by the Lake at the Harrell Center downtstairs lakeside patio
7 a.m.- 7 p.m. | Closest to the Pin Golf Competition at the Lake Junaluska Golf Course
9 a.m.-11 a.m. | Round Robin Tennis Tournament Register now for the tournament
11 a.m. | Decorated Kayak/Canoe/Paddleboard Flotilla Contest at the Colonnade Register now to join the flotilla.
11 a.m. | Porch Decorating Contest Register now to enter the contest.
1 p.m. | Blue Ridge Big Band concert at the lakeside white tent
3 p.m. | Reading of the Declaration of Independence by Ashley Calhoun at Shackford Hall Porch
4 p.m. | Storytime for Kids at the Library at the Harrell Center
Sunday, July 3
9 a.m. | Outdoor Summer Worship Service with the Reverend Dr. Audrey Warren and GloryWay at the lakeside tent
Afternoon & Evening | Kona Ice for sale near pool
7 p.m. | GloryWay concert at Stuart Auditorium Buy concert tickets online or at Bethea Welcome Center.
7 p.m. | Tethered RE/MAX hot air balloon rides (weather permitting) & face painting at field by Nanci Weldon Memorial Gym
9:30 p.m. | Fireworks
Monday, July 4
11 a.m. | Parade along North Lakeshore Drive from Lambuth Inn to Nanci Weldon Memorial Gym
12 p.m. | Food Trucks and Music by Whitewater Bluegrass at Open Air Gym
Food trucks will include Ruthie’s Famous Kettle Corn, Blundt Pretzels, Appalachian Smoke and Woof Street Bistro.
12-2 p.m. | Kid-Friendly Activities with Family Square Dance at open air Nanci Weldon Memorial Gym
2-4 p.m. | N.C. Free Fishing Day
7:30 p.m. | Balsam Range Concert at Stuart Auditorium. Buy tickets.
Free or low-cost family-friendly activities throughout Lake Junaluska’s Independence Day Celebration are offered through the Lake’s Summer Activities Program. Join us for an Independence Day holiday weekend full of fun:
- tethered hot air balloon rides (weather permitting)
- face painting
- decorated kayak/canoe/paddleboard flotilla competition (Register now to join the flotilla.)
- parade
- food trucks
- family square dance
- live bluegrass music
- morning devotion
- fireworks
- floating wish lanterns (Learn more.)
- fishing
- storytime for kids
- tennis tournament (Register for the tournament.)
- decorated porch contest (Register for the porch contest.)
- closest-to-the-pin contest at the golf course
- Kona Ice for sale near pool afternoon and evening of Sunday, July 3
- food trucks on Monday, July 3, including Ruthie’s Famous Kettle Corn, Blundt Pretzels, Appalachian Smoke, Woof Street Bistro
Recreation, Shopping & Dining – Holiday Hours
10 a.m.-5 p.m. | Memorial Chapel open for prayer (Sunday hours are 1 -5 p.m.)
8 a.m.-8 p.m. (July 1, 2 & 4 ) and 10 a.m.-9 p.m. (July 3) | Junaluska Gifts & Grounds
10 a.m.-7 p.m. | Lake Junaluska Golf Course
10 a.m.-8 p.m. | Lake Junaluska Outfitters (pool passes, kayak, canoe & paddleboard rentals)
11 a.m.-7 p.m. | Crepe & Custard Cafe
1 p.m.-8 p.m. | Cherokee IV boat tours. Private tours are available.
2 p.m. -5 p.m. | Lake Junaluska Library
We also invite you to visit the Christmas Memories shop at Lambuth Inn, lakeside walking trail, playground, and gardens and places of meditation, and enjoy fishing and birding!
Staff and volunteers will place floating wish lanterns on the lake on Friday, July 1, at 8:45 p.m. Each lantern will carry a name in remembrance or in honor of a loved one. (View the full list of 2022 Lake Junaluska Floating Wish Lantern Dedications (PDF).) All are welcome to the lakeside to enjoy, celebrate and admire this enchanting and meaningful display.
Donations for lanterns were accepted through Wednesday, June 29. These donations help sustain the mission and ministry of Lake Junaluska. A full list of names of those who are honored and memorialized, along with the names of those who gave, is available for download.
To help keep the lake clean, the lanterns are biodegradable and staff and volunteers will help gather as many lanterns as possible from the lake after the event as soon as conditions allow.
2021 Lanterns
Thank you to all who made a gift in 2021 to have a name placed on a lantern. Your gifts support the mission and ministry of Lake Junaluska.
Click here to download a full list of names of those who were honored and memorialized, along with the names of those who gave (.PDF)
Click on any of the images to view in a full-size lightbox gallery.
Lake Junaluska’s Independence Day Celebrations feature concerts and music. Events finalized for 2022 include:
- Blue Ridge Big Band. Saturday, July 2, at 1 p.m.
- GloryWay. Sunday, July 3, at 7 p.m. at Stuart Auditorium. Tickets are $20 each and are on sale now online on iTickets. Buy tickets.
- Bluegrass music and family square dance performed and led by Whitewater Bluegrass. Monday, July 4, from noon-2 p.m. at the open-air Nanci-Weldon Memorial Gym. (Food trucks and more family-friendly activities will take place at the gym and field! Details coming soon!)
- Balsam Range concert. Monday, July 4, at 7:30 p.m. at Stuart Auditorium. Buy tickets.
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Colorful displays of fireworks will cast reflections on the lake on Sunday, July 3, at approximately 9:30 p.m. as part of Lake Junaluska’s annual Independence Day Celebrations! The fireworks will be set off from the bridge over-the-dam and visible from locations around the lake.
The bridge over-the-dam will close on July 3 to vehicular traffic at 8 a.m. and to pedestrian traffic at noon for safety reasons as preparations are made for the event.
Thank you to Visit NC Smokies and our Friends of the Lake sponsors below for helping make this event possible!
Partnership Sponsor
- Haywood Regional Medical Center
Patron Sponsors
- Smoky Mountain News
- RCF Construction, Inc.
Friends Sponsors
- Clark & Leatherwood, Inc.
- First United Methodist Church, Waynesville
- Long’s Chapel
- Maple Tree Veterinary Hospital
- The Mountaineer
- Pactiv Evergreen
- Haywood Ace Hardware
- Beverly-Hanks, McElroy & Ellege Team
