THE United States Embassy will be celebrating the 4th of July in grand fashion this year at its sixth annual “Fun 4th” party. About 1,200 Americans and Khmers will come together to celebrate at the Embassy compound a day early on July 3.

Dance and cover band Section 5 will be headlining the event, and have been preparing by rehearsing a slew of American themed songs. Peace Corps Volunteer Singers will sing both the Cambodian and American national anthems.

Other events include a pie-eating contest, a dunk tank, and giveaways for the kids. Guests will stay well fed with on-site vendors such as Fatboy Subs, Dan Meats, Green Vespa, Hagar, KFC, Mike’s Burgers, Pizza Company, Simply Donuts, Swensen’s, Tell, Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Circus performers from Phare Ponleu Selpak, a Battambang-based NGO that educates people through art and performance, will also provide live entertainment throughout the day.

But wait, there’s more. Craig Gerard, the Embassy’s social media coordinator, gives details of a new development at this year’s party.

“One thing we are particularly excited about this year are the door prizes, which were arranged by the American Cambodia Business Council [one of the event’s co-hosts]. They spent a lot of energy gathering some great gifts. These include two roundtrip plane tickets to Hong Kong on Dragon Air, two roundtrip plane tickets to Bangkok on Thai Airways, hotel night stays at the Intercontinental Hotel, the Sofitel in Phnom Penh, and the Independence Hotel in Sihanoukville.”