ST. LOUIS GEARS UP FOR JULY 4 WITHOUT VP FAIR

The Midwest's largest country music concert, a parade for Persian Gulf veterans and spectacular fireworks displays, will highlight Independence day in St. Louis.

The Budweiser Rock 'N' Country concert will be July 3 at Busch Stadium. The concert will feature the Judds, Reba McIntire, Hank Williams Jr., the Kentucky Headhunters, Sawyer Brown and Ray Kennedy.

The concert is the largest gathering of country superstars in the Midwest this summer. Tickets for the 7 p.m. event are available through Metro Tix at (314) 534-1111.

Soldiers who served in the Persian Gulf will be honored with a parade at 6 p.m. on July 4. The parade will start from St. Louis Union Station at 18th and Market streets.

After the parade, the Military Airlift Command band will lead a patriotic concert outside Kiel Auditorium at 14th and Market streets. An elaborate fireworks display between Kiel and St. Louis Union Station begins at 9:30 p.m.

Also on July 4, the annual race from New Orleans to St. Louis between the Delta Queen and the Mississippi Queen steamboats ends on the St. Louis riverfront at 9:30 a.m. The Queens are the only overnight passenger vessels operating on the Mississippi. These boats will be docked on the riverfront throughout the day.

Other holiday events include a sand castle display at St. Louis' Laumier Sculpture Park, which will be open for visitors July 1-8; and a patriotic celebration from St. Louis Symphony Pops at 8 p.m. July 2-4 at Queeny Park.

The VP Fair, which traditionally draws millions to the St. Louis Riverfront during the July 4 weekend, will take place during the Labor Day holiday Aug. 31-Sept. 2 to accommodate construction on the Arch grounds.