From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for July 2, 1987:

Remember Independence Days? The annual festival in Lawrence was to kick off tomorrow, July 3, which was a Friday, and continue through Sunday. Events for the weekend included a downtown parade, the Free State Run beginning at the Holidome, and canoe and rowing races on the Kaw. In Burcham Park, musical performances were on tap from Riders in the Sky and New Grass Revival, Banu Gibson, the New Orleans Hot Jazz Orchestra, and the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra. Numerous food booths were to be available at the park, where visitors could purchase buffalo burgers, turkey legs, Indian tacos, bratwurst, barbecue, pork skins, pies, cobblers, homemade root beer, lemonade, and a wealth of other delights. Children from the Lawrence Arts Center, many dressed as ears of corn, were to perform a fun folk tale about a farmer who unknowingly grew popcorn and stored it in his shed, where hot weather caused it to start popping. The Jaycees’ Fireworks Extravaganza was to kick off at dusk on Saturday night. Tickets for the festival were $5 for adults and $3 for children, with those five and under entering the park for free. Highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s were predicted for the next few days, with the usual summertime 20 to 30 percent chance of showers.