This Fourth of July, Howard County will again host its celebration in Columbia, complete with a “fireworks extravaganza,” as well as live music, kids activities, food and general festivities.

And in Catonsville, residents have been lining Frederick Road with chairs for more than a week in anticipation of its well known parade. 

According to the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks  and Howard County Tourism, there are no county-sponsored Independence Day events in Ellicott City.

In Valley Mede, residents have taken the celebration into their own hands. “We do a neighborhood parade in Valley Mede where the kids decorate their bikes,” Lisa Higdon said on Facebook.

Mitch Case suggested on Facebook that residents see what’s going on at Turf Valley. The resort’s calendar lists a Swedish massage for July 4. Which sounds excellent, but not in a Fourth-of-July kind of way. 

Several people did mention the Catonsville parade, which is known for the enthusiasm of its spectators. The tradition of putting chairs on the street ahead of the parade to save a spot has spawned discussions on the nature of human kind, among other things. 

User Chuck Kindred responded to a poll which asked if the chair tradition had gotten out of hand: “Questions like this help push along my ongoing lack of hope for human-kind. It saddens me that society has become so soft that such great local tradition has to be compromised because people are so hindered by folding chairs and ribbon.”

As far as Patch can tell, however, there are no celebrations in Ellicott City that inspire such lofty debate.

For some people, of course, that's OK.  "I don't mind that all of the traffic and craziness is in the towns around us," Diane Aguilera said on Facebook, "And we get to come home to EC to chill :-)"

So let us know: What will do you doing to celebrate Independence Day? 

Vote in the poll below and weigh in on the conversation on Facebook.