Toby Keith to be honored at Fourth of July celebration in his Oklahoma hometown
Toby Keith's Oklahoma hometown will pay homage to the late country music superstar at its Fourth of July celebration.
Moore's Celebration in the Heartland is set for 2 to 10 p.m. July 4 at Buck Thomas Park, 1903 NE 12.
The Independence Day event will feature inflatables, helicopter rides, children's activities, food trucks and live music by G4 Guitar School, The Broadcasters and Jason Young Band.
The festivities will lead up to what's billed as one of the largest fireworks displays in the state, which this year will be set to Keith's music as a tribute to the entertainment icon. The fireworks show will blast off at about 9:45 p.m. July 4.
Keith died Feb. 5 at age 62 after a multiyear battle with stomach cancer.
Born in Clinton, the future Country Music Hall of Famer primarily grew up on a farm in Moore, where the water tower now is emblazoned with the words "Home of Toby Keith." The University of Oklahoma superfan went on make Norman his home base.
Toby Keith remembered for patriotic songs and support of the troops
The Songwriters Hall of Famer remains beloved for his patriotic hits “Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue (The Angry American)” and "American Soldier" as well as for his support of military veterans and service members.
Starting in 2002, Keith played 11 USO Tours spanning more than 285 events for nearly 256,000 troops and military families. The singer-songwriter performed in 18 countries, and during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, he played for troops on the front lines and even encountered mortar fire on at least one occasion.
Although he didn't serve in the military himself, Keith received the Military Officers Association of America Distinguished Service Award in 2009. He was recognized with the Spirit of the USO Award in 2014.
Fourth of July was 'a really big holiday' for Toby Keith, his daughter says
Keith's daughter, fellow singer-songwriter and Norman resident Krystal Keith, told The Oklahoman that her father loved celebrating Fourth of July with family and fireworks. So, she's expecting it to be the holiday when she misses him the most.
"I'm expecting Fourth of July to just be the hardest one to take. ... That's a time that we've always spent with him: We typically are at our lake house or the golf club, and that's a really big holiday for him," she told The Oklahoman in a recent one-on-one interview.
"He always takes all the grandbabies ... and he would show up at whatever the fireworks stand that he was going to and would just literally load up. All the kids would go pick their own stuff, and then he would pick all the big stuff he wanted. By the time we left, we're $500 or $600 in with fireworks, and the truck bed's full. And it was days and days of fireworks."
For celebrants who want to see a professional fireworks show this year, several July 4 events are planned in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.
For more information on Moore's Celebration in the Heartland, go to https://www.cityofmoore.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Fourth of July tribute to Toby Keith to be held at his hometown Moore
