Throughout the year, the MWR Department of Naval Station Great Lakes offers a wide variety of special events to sailors and their families. Each event is unique in its own way and gives MWR patrons a chance to participate in something special and make lasting memories. On average, over 50,000 people attend MWR special events each year. Many of the events have become long standing traditions at Great Lakes, and each year new events are added to the schedule in an effort to continue to provide quality services to our sailors and their families.

4th of July Celebration Cancelled for 2013

Capt. Randy Lynch, Naval Station Great Lakes commanding officer, announced officially on March 12 that the annual 4th of July Celebration at Naval Station Great Lakes will be cancelled in 2013 due to the budget uncertainty. 

Although the bulk of this free and open to the public festival has always been self-supporting with the help of corporate sponsorship and revenues through retail sales on-site, security and force protection costs for this event cannot be absorbed based on the current fiscal circumstances and direction from higher authority. 

The 4th of July Celebration, put on by the Morale, Welfare & Recreation (MWR) Department, has had a rich history here in Lake County and draws more than 40-50,000 people each year to this FREE and open to public event. In fact in 2011, it was recognized internationally as one of the top three events in the world!