WILLISTON – Visitors can celebrate Independence Day with frontier flair during “Stars, Stripes, and Stories,” a full day of free family-friendly festivities Thursday, July 4, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at Fort Buford State Historic Site and the Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center near Williston.

The parade grounds at Fort Buford will come alive with frontier games. Visitors also can enjoy 19th-century classics such as graces, hoop and stick, lawn bowling and croquet. Everyone is welcome to bring a picnic lunch, chairs and blankets to enjoy the day outdoors.

At the nearby Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center, explore hands-on history with crafts to take home. Visitors can paint-your-own flag on canvas and craft an 1800s-style liberty rosette badge to wear. Throughout the day, visitors can catch “Sparks of Knowledge” mini-talks about Independence Day on the frontier at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m.