YOUNGSTOWN – The city will celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary with “Ignite the Night Youngstown,” which includes a free concert by the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra and a fireworks display on July 5.

The event will be at the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre and is being funded by the Rotary Club of Youngstown. Other partners include the Economic Action Group and Youngstown CityScape.

The event will start around 8 p.m. with the symphony playing American music, said Erik Ochsner, the symphony’s music director.

“It’s going to be a very exciting event,” he said. “It’s not just for the city of Youngstown. We’re having it on July 5, not the 4th so we want everyone to come down and enjoy the free live music.”

The event is designed to bring people together for a large-scale celebration of the nation’s semiquincentennial anniversary as part of America250.

Gerri Jenkins, Rotary Club of Youngstown president, said the event “is a great opportunity to highlight the value of Youngstown Symphony and CityScape, not only to Youngstown, but to the entire region.”

The event is scheduled so people can do other events on July 4 and then come downtown for this, Jenkins said.

Mayor Derrick McDowell said he is inviting the entire area to the city’s downtown for the event.

The America250 event, he said, “celebrates the fact that we built America. This community, the third largest steel producing community in the country, built America. This country’s story celebrating 250 years is not complete until we position Youngstown as the pilot for how you build back cities that built America.”

McDowell added: “For the next 250 years, this city will be a beacon for strength, resilience and grit. That is the commitment that this country can make to the city of Youngstown. We assisted in making sure that we as a country have been here for 250 years and now we need that return on investment to come back to cities like Youngstown.”