Fourth of July celebrations in the State College area go back to 1927, when the Alpha Fire Company first put on a carnival. For the next 50 years, the Alpha carnival and parade were major events on the community's calendar. However, by the 1970s, increasing demands on the Alphas' all-volunteer force left firefighters with no time to produce a Fourth of July celebration.

So, in 1978, the State College Sunrise Kiwanis Club took on the 4th of July celebration, presenting through the 1980s a modest firework show at the current site near Beaver Stadium on the Penn State campus.

In 1991, Sunrise Kiwanis passed the torch to WZWW Radio and United Federal Bank. From that partnership grew an outstanding event, produced by Dan Barker and his family for the community. The Great American 4th of July was especially notable for its use of computers to choreograph fireworks to music. By the start of the new century, the show was rated among the best in the world and had outgrown the ability of one family to organize and administer it.