"4th of July" is a trailer park larp about a "broken American dream."

Time is running out if you want to join this year's 4^th of July larp, what the event describes as a "trailer park larp about the broken American dream." The 4^th of July larp website provides this overview of the project:

4th of July is a social drama focusing on the death of the American Dream. The game faces stereotypes about the poor, backwater part of America and shows the human face of those ridiculed by popular culture. The players star as the inhabitants of a trailer park — poor Americans riddled with problems. It's a story about hope, looking and finding your place in both your country and the society.

The larp guide explains that the larp setting is "Pristine Park, Ohio, 2019," the main theme is "the broken American Dream," the mood is "bitter-sweet," the genre is "realistic social drama," and the aesthetics are "flashy American retro" (whatever that means!?). The larp is "actively directed," and during the game a variety of pre-scripted events will be taking place, including public events — for all larpers to participate — focused around "Independence Day celebrations"; public events designed for particular storylines and specific characters but that are open for others to join as well (the website states, "they are aimed at creating scenes where a given character can make a life-changing decision"); and, finally private events that are just for specific characters and storylines ("aimed at creating scenes with life-changing potential for the characters or confronting them with the consequences of their previous decisions").

The larp will take place September 11-14, 2025 at Iłki Resort, Łódź Voivodeship in Poland. You must be over 18 to participate, and tickets, which cost 390 Euros, include:

*A nuanced story about the Broken American Dream delivering a wide range of experiences and emotions.

*Full-fledged characters with rich backstories and relationships to play on: families, friends, and neighbors.

*A rich plot exploring significant themes like social injustice, poverty, exclusion, abuse, violence, and addiction.

*Numerous events: beauty pageant, pie-making competition, firearms practice, boxing match, fireworks show and more.

*An immersive trailer park with fully functional cabins or trailers where you can live exclusively for the weekend.

*In-game food available at a diner during the larp, off-game supper on Thursday, and breakfast buffet on Friday and Sunday.

*Scenography to create the festive American atmosphere, necessary props, special effects and help with the sfx make-up.

*Background characters, logistics and technical service, player support by 4th of July crew.

*Photos from the larp and in-game portrait of your character taken by a professional photographer.

If you want to join, you better hurry, bcause there are only a handful of roles left to play, including "Joyce Valentine," a diner owner over the age of 40. The larp designers describe this role:

Joyce and her diner are the heart of Pristine Park. Always helpful, smiling, ready to feed you with delicious homemade food and listen to what you have to say. You can confide in her, you can tell her the latest gossip, or you can vent your anger. Or at least this is how it used to be. After a long and devastating illness, Joyce tries to return to her old life and continue to cultivate the values she once believed in with all her heart. Only… the old life is gone. Everything has changed, and she has to figure it out somehow.

I dunno, I appreciate what they're doing as a performance piece, and this might seem like an interesting experience or even fun to some folks, but to me this entire event seems like it would be absolutely depressing. I'm sure that's because those of us currently living in the United States are watching the so-called "American Dream" collapsing in real time right before our eyes, in stark relief.

If you can't make it to the larp, you can still tap into the vibe by tuning into the accompanying playlist, which includes two of my favorite songs that both perfectly capture the pain and nihilism of a crumbling America — Green Day's "Jesus of Suburbia" and Sufjan Stevens' "Fourth of July."

See more roles here, and learn more about the larp here.