America's birthday falls on a Saturday this year, and the renowned Central PA 4th Fest is looking to uphold its title.

Directors have been working to improve the annual festival with additions including more than 100 fireworks to the third best fireworks show in the nation on the 4th of July, as ranked by fireworksguide.com. They have also added new band performances and different attractions despite a lack of funding for this year's festival.

"With the new additions, we expect this to be a must-see year," said Bernie Keisling, executive director of the festival.

The volunteer team that runs the event includes all different types of community members, with everyone from students and professors to nurses and mechanics, Keisling said, adding that the experience of the volunteer team has played a major role in helping the festival succeed despite budget cuts.

The lack of funding this year may not affect the weekend's festivities, but may alter the grandeur for 4th Fest 2010.

In the days leading up to the 4th of July, the festival's funding has reached about 80 percent of what it usually is at this time.

Keisling said this was not because of any big contributors pulling their donations, but multiple different sponsors having to cut back from the amount that they would normally provide.

"It's just nickels, dimes and quarters here and there," Keisling said. "We're okay for this year's festival, but contributions go forward to what kind of event we can put on for the community next year."

Jody Alessandrine, executive director of the Downtown Improvement District, said the lack of funding from local businesses is not necessarily indicative of State College's place during this economic recession.

"There's no such thing as a recession-proof town, but we're pretty close," he said, adding the unemployment rate locally is still barely 5 percent.

Alessandrine sees the problem as a misconception of how the local economy is actually affected as opposed to national effects.

He said people are saving their money instead of spending it at local businesses, which in turn had to scale back their donations to the festival.

"People are reading and watching the news and thinking times are tough, but people are buying into the perception more than the reality," he said.

He added that festivals located in the downtown district, such as the June 27 Summer's Best Music Fest, have more of an impact on the local economy than 4th Fest, which happens on campus.

Alessandrine said he thinks the community will understand if 4th Fest has to be scaled back in coming years.

"If they ever said they were going to stop it, I think a lot of people would come out of the woodwork," he said.

Festival executives continue to rely on the community to come forward with contributions toward the festival.

"There's no magic money machine that makes 4th Fest possible," Keisling said.

Despite the economic setbacks, Keisling said the nationally recognized fireworks display should live up to its title once more this year.

"They can expect the same great fireworks show in length and quality that they've seen in the past," Keisling said. "That sets the bar pretty high."

The total count for fireworks being set up has jumped from 10,637 last year to more than 10,800 this year. Keisling said this will not have any significant impact to this year's show, but what will really get spectators this year is the new techniques being used and the new set pieces that were created.

"We just want the audience to be going 'oh' and 'ah,' " Keisling said. "We need to do that by surprise."

The most up-close and personal spot to view the fireworks display is from the VIP or "in-close" viewing area that Keisling said allows you to get as close to the explosions as safety will allow.

"You can touch it, taste it, feel it and smell it when you're so close," he said. "It engages all the senses when you're in the VIP area."

Tickets for the special viewing section can be purchased at the Bryce Jordan Center for $25, but the show can also be seen for free in other places in town.

The festival is not just about the fireworks. The day will start off with the Firecracker 4K Race, in which Keisling said almost 1,000 people are expected to participate. Interested parties can register on the 4th Fest Web site or just sign up for this event the day of, and all proceeds for entry fees will go toward supporting 4th Fest activities.

Everything else should be in full swing by around 4 p.m., with carnival rides running, military equipment on display and entertainment set to play on three separate stages.

One main attraction that will be on display throughout the festival will be the 24-foot-wide and 32-foot-tall "graphical waterfall" built by Milwaukee-based Pevnick Designs.

The structure will use electronically controlled water droplets to create images in the water, which designer Steve Pevnick said will be a series of patriotic images and others related to fireworks and Sept. 11.

He added that the waterfall is six nozzles deep from front to back with two programmable layers that can make two separate graphics at once and is capable of consuming over 384 gallons of water per minute.

"One farmer in Illinois asked if it could be used for irrigation," he said.

Waterfalls such as the one that will be displayed at 4th Fest have also appeared at events such as the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and the King of Thailand's 60th year coronation celebrations.

Despite these big-name displays, Pevnick said the company still stays somewhat under the radar.

"There was never a lot of money to do this," said Pevnick, who is also a professor at the University of Wisconsin. "It was always very low profile in the sense of trying to promote it."

Pevnick added that the company grew just as word traveled through the grapevine. The Internet has also helped in advertising, with people taking videos of the waterfalls on their camera phones and posting them on YouTube.

Keisling said discussion about displaying a graphical waterfall during 4th Fest began when one of the board leaders saw images of them on the Internet.

"We knew that since we'd have a bigger audience for a Saturday we wanted to bring in something extra special," Keisling said. "It's big and wide and absolutely going to be a knock out."

In addition to permanent fixtures at the event, one of the many performers will be Cootie Brown, a seven-piece band that fuses elements of funk, reggae and rock into its music.

The band is set to play at 4 p.m. on the Main Stage. Brian Eckert, bassist for Cootie Brown, said this is the first time it will play at the festival, and will be the first gig of the year.

The band came together in late 2005 and used to play regularly at various spots downtown, including a release party for three albums that the band played at Bar Bleu, 114 S. Garner St., in October of 2007.

However, Cootie Brown has not been able to play as often after Eckert moved to Vermont.

"I'm looking forward to reuniting with the band, and the rest of the guys are to," he said.

He added the band's music will appeal to the diverse audience that will be present at the festival.

"I think our music is very upbeat and danceable," he said. "This type of environment will definitely cater to that."

Eckert cites the band's influences as artists such as Bob Marley, Miles Davis and Stevie Wonder, with the music turning out to be a mixture of modern jazz and modern funk.

"It has hooks that are infectious and easy to move to," he said. "That's what we like to play."

Other events include an activity for children to interact with Penn State athletes, sponsored by the athletic department, at 6 p.m. in Medlar Field.

"The athletes go over and kids get to see the trophies," Keisling said. "The kids get into it and they have a ball."

Keisling said he expects that this year's festival will exceed the record-breaking crowd of more than 70,000 people it attracted last year.

"I'd be delighted if we broke the record," he said. "This is the year to come out and party on our country's birthday."