HOPE — Thousands are expected to flock to the Hope Town Square for the 11th annual Old Fashioned Independence Day celebration Friday.
Beginning at 5 p.m., both kids and adults will be encouraged to participate in an ongoing evening of games and contests that include watermelon seed spitting, a cake walk, tug of war, sack races, stilt walking and hoop rolling.
One anticipated highlight will be an actor portrayal of the 16th president of the United States. Indianapolis performer Danny Russell will address the crowd as Abraham Lincoln, starting at 6:45 p.m. in the shelter house.
The musical headliner will be the Banister Family Bluegrass Band, which will perform at the bandstand gets starting at 7:30 p.m.
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For many, the most anticipated event is the fireworks display, which should begin at about 10 p.m. in the skies west of the town square.
While inclement weather kept last year’s attendance at about 2,000, organizers are hopeful for dry and comfortable conditions Friday that might bring in a substantially larger crowd.
That is quite possible because Hope is providing something more Americans seem to want from their Independence Day celebrations, said Lynn Lucas, the former Columbus Area Visitors Center executive director.
In recent years, more people have chosen to move away from crowded, high-tech Fourth of July events in larger cities to simple small-town celebrations like what takes place in Hope, Lucas said.
That was evident in a 2016 Reader’s Poll published by USA Today, where two of the top 10 Independence Day celebrations had the phrase “old-fashioned” in their title.
During this time of year, the term ‘old-fashioned’ often become a euphemism for traditional displays of American patriotism, Lucas said.
There’s a great appeal for many in our region in seeing kids waving flags or decorating their bicycles in red, white and blue — especially when they are the children of your friends and neighbors, Lucas said.
“Hope does a bang-up job every year, and that town square works so well for this event,” she said.
One of the first events will be the 10-minute Little Miss and Mr. Firecracker competition for children ages 3-10 that gets underway at 5:30 p.m at the shelter house. Winners will be chosen by a penny vote system.
At 5:45 p.m., the Kids’ Decorated Bike/Trike/Wagon Parade will begin at the pump house, and begin making its way around the town square at 5:50 p.m.
When the parade is over, pony rides will still be available for small children in the open lot beside Swiss Maid Country Market, located on the north side of the town square.
Both adults and children will be entering the Apple Pie Baking Contest that gets underway at 6 p.m. Prizes in both the adults and kids under 12 categories will be $25, $15 and $10 during the competition at the Kappa Kappa Sigma booth on the north side of the square.
Registration forms for the pie-baking contests are available at the Yellow Trail Museum, Willow Leaves of Hope, and the Hope branch of the Bartholomew County Public Library.
People who mostly savor the culinary delights will find fruit crisps and homemade ice cream provided by Kappa Kappa Sigma, as well as a variety of dishes from the First Baptist Church.
In addition, the Hartsville Fire Department will once again be sponsoring a fish fry at the event.
And in case things get too hot, the air-conditioned Yellow Trail Museum will be open at the southwest corner of Jackson and Main streets throughout the celebration.
The museum, which has sponsored the event for several years, will be offering ice cream floats for $1.
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Friday schedule in downtown Hope
5 p.m. – Food booths open. Crafts and games begin. Yellow Trail Museum opens, serving $1 root beer floats.
5:30 p.m. – Little Miss and Mr. Firecracker competition at the shelter house. Winners announced by 5:40 p.m.
5:45 p.m. – Cake Walk, sponsored by Miller’s Merry Manor, begins at shelter house.
5:50 p.m. – Kids’ Decorated Bike/Trike/Wagon Parade around the Hope Town Square.
6 p.m. – Apple Pie baking contest at Kappa Kappa Sigma booth.
6:15 p.m. – Sack races on the south side of the square.
6:40 p.m. – Tug of War contests, all ages.
6:45 p.m. – Actor portrayal of Abraham Lincoln at the shelter house.
6:50 p.m. – Potato on a spoon relay.
7 p.m. – Watermelon seed spitting contests.
7:30 p.m. – More sack races and tug of war.
7:30 p.m. – Banister Family Bluegrass Band at the bandstand.
7:45 p.m. – Watermelon eating contests (six participants at a time).
10 p.m. – Fireworks display above the west side of the town square.
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