One of the area’s grandest and most popular summer festivals is poised to return to Oxford Township this week.

Get ready because the Ninth Annual Seymour Celebration is taking over the 132-acre Seymour Lake Township Park on Friday, July 7 and Saturday, July 8.

This year’s two-day extravaganza, organized by the Oxford Township Parks and Recreation Department, includes wall-to-wall, good, old-fashioned family fun. There will be a carnival, live music, hot air balloon launch, youth baseball tournament, a community garage sale and two nights of fireworks designed to dazzle the senses.

“It’s just another opportunity to provide a quality family program,” said Parks and Rec. Director Ron Davis. “It’s (meant) to promote our entire community (from the township to the downtown) . . . It brings new people into our community. Hopefully, there’s an economic impact to (local businesses) throughout the two days.”

Davis is expecting an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people to attend, depending on the weather.

“I think our numbers will be just as good if not better than they were in years past,” he said. “I think every year it just keeps getting bigger and bigger.”

“A lot of people have actually worked their summer vacations around this event,” Davis noted.

Admission to the Seymour Celebration is free both days before 7 p.m. After that, a fee of $5 per vehicle for parking will be charged at the gate.

Both alcoholic beverages and personal fireworks (including sparklers) are strictly prohibited in the park per township ordinance. Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies will be on patrol during the event and watching for violators.

The centerpiece of the Seymour Celebration continues to be the carnival rides and games provided by Skerbeck Entertainment Group, based in Fennville, Michigan.

The carnival will run from noon to 11 p.m. both days.

Wristbands that allow folks to enjoy all the rides as many times as they wish for a single day will be available for $20 each at the carnival ticket office. Wristbands can be purchased prior to the event online at www.seymourcelebration.com for $17 each, but it must be done before noon on Friday. All sales are final.

Davis said the long-term relationship with Skerbeck has been “fantastic.”

“They came highly recommended to us from the City of Canton, originally, when we started this,” he said. “Everything they say they’re going to do, they follow through with. They’ve been a pleasure to work with.”

As always, there will be plenty of fireworks to delight the thousands of visitors expected to flood the park. Colonial Fireworks, based in Clayton, Michigan, will once again light up the sky beginning at dusk.

Friday night’s display is sponsored by Meijer, while Saturday night’s show is sponsored by Genisys Credit Union.

Like Skerbeck, Colonial Fireworks has been part of the Seymour Celebration since the festival began in 2009.

Davis strongly believes in forming lasting partnerships when he finds the right people.

In addition to the carnival and fireworks displays, the Seymour Celebration will host a hot air balloon launch on Friday around 7 p.m., weather-permitting.

Two or three colorful balloons, provided by the Oxford-based Sky Adventures, are expected to take flight. If you’ve never seen how one is launched, this is a great opportunity to learn about the process.

From 6-8 p.m. on Friday, Oakland County Parks and Recreation will have inflatables set up for kids. “Socks are required,” Davis said.

Sports fans eager to enjoy the great American pastime won’t want to miss the Diamond Classic, a baseball tournament featuring 26 teams with players ranging in age from 8-12.

The games will start Friday evening, continue all day Saturday and wrap up with the thrilling finals on Sunday.

The Clean Sweep Community Garage Sale will be held in the park on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Folks are welcome to come sell, shop and swap. It’s for everyone from vendors and crafters to folks looking to finally clean out that messy garage or over-stuffed attic.

Setup begins at 9:30 a.m. Booth space (12-foot-by-12-foot) is available. The cost is $10 for Oxford residents and $15 for non-residents. Participants must provide their own tables and chairs.

Proceeds will be donated to the Oxford Wildcat Athletic Boosters Club. Visit www.seymourcelebration.com to register.

Also on Saturday, Home Depot will have a Kid’s Corner area set up from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Volunteers will be on-hand to help youngsters build simple wood-based projects such as birdhouses and toolboxes.

As always, there will be plenty of live music from 7 p.m. until the fireworks on Friday and from noon to the fireworks on Saturday.

Band after band will take the stage on Saturday to raise money for The Jam for Vets Project, the mission of which is to enrich the lives of veterans in the VA hospital system through a self-funded, comprehensive music services program.

Davis stressed the Seymour Celebration couldn’t happen without donations and support from local businesses and big corporations. He made it clear the Seymour Celebration, for which approximately $35,000 is budgeted, is not a revenue-generator for the parks and rec. department.

“In order for us to break even, without the sponsorships, we couldn’t do it,” he said. “(The parks and rec. department) would be subsidizing the program and you could only subsidize it (for) so long. The program would (eventually) be discontinued.”

Two big sponsors this year are Meijer and Genisys Credit Union. Meijer made a $5,000 cash contribution, while Genisys Credit Union donated $2,500 in cash, plus $13,750 in in-kind advertising for the event.

Davis is grateful to the parks and rec. staff for their willingness to put in so much additional time and labor every year to make the Seymour Celebration happen. He noted they don’t get paid extra for their efforts.

“They’re just out there doing it,” he said.