Celebrating America's birthday works any old day of the week, granted. But when it lands on a weekend, extra sparks seem to fly.

This year's Saturday-based Fourth of July is book-ended by Friday, which has plenty to offer on its own, and Sunday, the day of rest that some of the more serious birthday revelers will be glad is there.

Following are the explosive highlights, some of which ignite as early as today:

Thursday

• You can bet your ice cream dipper that tonight's Franklin Park Concert and Ice Cream Social won't overlook the occasion at hand. Expect to hear some serious flag-waving sounds from the Community Concert Band in one of Bloomington's sweetest settings, all for free. The scoops start at 6 p.m., followed by the sounds at 7 p.m.
• Peoria's "Red, White and Boom Festival" kicks off its three-day run with some kind of wonderful: a Grand Funk Railroad concert at 8 p.m. on the CEFCU Center Stage at Riverfront Festival Park. Tickets are $25 to $30.
• Two of Pantagraphland's most enterprising communities are also getting into the birthday spirit early.
• Streator's traditional weeklong fete, "Streator's Fourth: America's Best," actually has already been under way for the past 24 hours (time waits for no one in Streator, folks). And it continues today through Sunday at various locations downtown and around.
• Lincoln, meanwhile, kicks off its downtown Heritage Days Celebration today and lets it run with sidewalk sales, entertainment and more, through Sunday.
• The Illinois Shakespeare Festival's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" boasts almost as many sparkles in its fairy costumes as some pyrotechnical displays we could name. So be blinded by the lights at 7:30 p.m. at Bloomington's Ewing Manor.
• And who can forget the most unforgettable Fourth of July weekend movie opening of the '70s - "Jaws," which chomped a swath through America's box office in '75? Relive those gory glory days with a nostalgic big-screen revival of the Steven Spielberg classic at 7 p.m. today and Friday at the Normal Theater (and, lest we forget, the film itself transpires over the July 4 holiday).

Friday

• We're happy to report that the folks behind The Pantagraph's Holiday Spectacular are still branching out from their original Christmas moorings into other special occasions. In what has become the Spectacular crew's second big showing of the year -The Pantagraph's Celebrate America! - the Miller Park Band will burst to flag-waving, pulse-pounding life for two free performances, one on Independence Day eve (7 p.m. Friday), and one on the Big Day itself (7 p.m. Saturday).
• More pre-Fourth concert action on the Peoria riverfront with an 8 p.m. concert featuring bluegrass rockers the Yonder Mountain String Band. Tickets: $20 to $25.
• If you'd like to check out how Illinois' state capitol fetes the Fourth, Springfield has merged two of its big summertime events into one: the Capital City Celebration and the Taste of Downtown Springfield. And they're being spread out like an all-you-can-eat buffet over two nights, Friday and Saturday, on the State Capitol grounds.

Saturday

• In Bloomington-Normal, each Twin City will offer up its traditional celebration: Fourth of July in Miller Park includes the "Celebrate America!" concert at 7 p.m.; the Park 2 Park Run; and the fireworks sky concert at dusk.
• In Normal, Fairview Park and its Family Aquatic Center are the sites of much water-based fun earlier in the day, followed at 6 p.m. by a concert featuring nostalgic rockers The Bygones and the sky concert at dusk.
• Elsewhere, there's the 11th Annual Children's Independence Day parade at 9 a.m. in Bloomington's Clearwater Park.
• Among the many communities offering fireworks and/or celebrations are Atlanta, Chenoa, Clinton, Downs, Dwight, Eureka, Farmer City, Heyworth, Hopedale, Lake Bloomington, LeRoy, Lincoln, Mahomet, Metamora, Mount Pulaski, Paxton, Pontiac, Sibley, Towanda and others (check the GO! Calendar's Special Events listings for more details).
• Larger-city celebrations are also out in full force, including Peoria's riverfront Red, White & Boom Festival, Champaign-Urbana's Freedom Celebration at Parkland College's Dodds Park; Springfield's Capital City Celebration (see Friday); and Decatur's Lakeside Music & Arts Festival, Saturday and Sunday in Nelson Park.