With most participants in face masks, Veterans of Foreign Wars hosted a flag-raising with a short ceremony at Maricopa Veterans Center Saturday morning to launch a unique Fourth of July in Maricopa. That included publicly honoring 13-year-old Xylia Kraay, who took second place in the VFW’s District 10 Patriots Pen youth essay contest. Today, the City of Maricopa is hosting online contests in lieu of its annual Great American 4th. Tonight at 9 p.m., the City will light a dual fireworks display for 15 minutes from locations in the north and south sides of town with hopes all Maricopans can view from their backyards or online. Copper Sky will be closed, and no parking or pedestrian access to the venues will be allowed.
![Local high school football teams prepare for the upcoming season. [Victor Moreno]](https://www.inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/MARICOPA-HIGH-SCHOOL-2022-1-218x150.jpg "High school football competitions Friday open to public")
![Kincade Young, a recent graduate from Heritage Academy [Victor Moreno]](https://www.inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/kincade2-218x150.png "A last shot, a found path")
![Local high school football teams prepare for the upcoming season. [Victor Moreno]](https://www.inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/MARICOPA-HIGH-SCHOOL-2022-1-100x70.jpg "High school football competitions Friday open to public")
