Blake Shelton, with three consecutive gold albums under his belt, will be the featured performer for Celebration 2006.

Domino, a funky, brass-backed band from Roanoke, will open the show for the third straight year.

Celebration 2006 is scheduled for Monday, July 3 at Martinsville Speedway. The free-to-the-public event kicks off when children's rides open at 5 p.m. Domino will open the entertainment at 7 p.m., followed by Shelton at about 8:30. The day's activities will culminate with a fireworks show at about 10 p.m.

Shelton's current single "Nobody But Me" is number five on Billboard's top 10-list of hot country songs. It has been in the top 100 for 34 consecutive weeks. "Nobody But Me" is off of Shelton's latest album "Blake Shelton's Barn and Grill," which peaked at number three on Billboard's country album chart.

"Barn and Grill" is Shelton's third album since splashing onto the scene in 2001 with the self-titled "Blake Shelton," which also peaked at number three on the charts. His second album, "The Dreamer," released in 2003, rose to number two on the album charts.

"We feel like we're really fortunate to land an act like Blake Shelton for Celebration 2006," said Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell. "He's a perfect fit for this event. He's sort of laid back, but puts on a high-energy show and is a real race fan to top things off."

Shelton released his debut album in July of 2001 and scored his first number-one hit, "Austin," that same month. Austin stayed atop the charts for five weeks. He scored two more hits off his debut album with "Ol' Red" and "All Over Me."

Shelton avoided the sophomore jinx with "The Dreamer", which turned into a second gold album for the Oklahoma native. His first single from that album, "The Baby," soared to number one. He had two more strong singles off his second album, "Heavy Lifting" and "Playboys of the Southwestern World."

"Blake Shelton's Barn and Grille" also produced a number-one single, "Some Beach," while "Nobody But Me" has been on the charts for over half a year.

Celebration 2006 will feature about a dozen different children's rides in the Speedway's exhibit area. The rides will open at 5 p.m. and run to 11:30 p.m. Unlike in past years, the rides will run during and after the entertainment.

Celebration 2005, a free-to-the-public event, has always drawn the financial backing of local government and industry. Already signed on to support this year's event are Henry County, the City of Martinsville, Stanley Furniture, Hooker Furniture, Martinsville Speedway, Boxley Materials Company, Memorial Hospital, Bassett Furniture Industries, American of Martinsville, Waste Management, the Martinsville Speedway Children's Foundation and Frith Construction.

. "There is absolutely no way we could pull off a free event of this magnitude without the financial help and support of so many folks in our area," said Campbell, who along with his staff coordinates the event. "It costs well over $100,000 to stage, so obviously, without an admission charge, that's a lot of money to come up with. And every year enough people step up to the plate so we can have a huge show for the folks in our area."

This is the eighth year for the event. Previous entertainers include Trick Pony, Trace Adkins, Tracy Byrd, Montgomery Gentry, Charlie Daniels, Aaron Tippin and Confederate Railroad.