(Yes, this is a reprint but the Fourth is the big event for July.)
Since 1973 a group of people have been organizing a birthday party for America and inviting all their Wake Forest friends and neighbors to enjoy the fireworks, the parade and the games.
It will be no different in 2015. Miss Liberty (Bonnie Johnson) will mend the holes burned by last year’s fireworks and take up her torch. Uncle Sam (Greg Harrington at the fireworks show and Bill Brown at the Children’s Parade) may touch up their beards with white powder after donning the patriotic suits. And hundreds of people will crowd into Trentini Stadium Friday night, July 3, for the entertainment and – as dusk deepens – the best fireworks show in the area if not the state.
Here’s what you need to know to enjoy it all. First, get to Trentini Stadium on the Wake Forest High School campus on Stadium Drive about 5:30 p.m. July 3 when the gates open to get the best seats. Handicapped parking is available by identification only along with regular parking are available on the school campus. You may tailgate in the parking lot but everyone who enters the school campus must be a paying spectator.
Admission is $5 each but children 6 and younger are admitted free. For families, there are advance tickets available that give buyers a free ticket when they buy four. The advance tickets are on sale at the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce, 305 South White Street; the Wake Forest Weekly, 229 East Owen Avenue; Aloha Tan, 12223 Hampton Way Drive; All About Hair & Nails, 12223 Hampton Way Drive; Town & Country Hardware, 910 Gateway Commons Circle in Gateway Commons; NC General Stores, 150 South White Street; and For Old Times Sake Antiques, 223 South White Street.
People may take picnic baskets and/or coolers into the stadium but they will be inspected. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited on the campus. You will find food and drink inside the stadium – hamburgers, hot dogs, popcorn, Chick-fil-A sandwiches and snow cones.
There will be lots of entertainment from about 6:30 p.m. on before the 20-minute fireworks show. Jupiter Jones will be the headline act along with the Friendship Chapel Choir and local band Apples & Airplanes. Mayor Vivian Jones will welcome the crowd, Ryan Hutchinson, the vice president for administration at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, will give the invocation, and Jim Dyer, Santa Claus at Christmas, will be the emcee.
Go to bed early that night because Saturday could be a long, hot, active day. It begins with the Children’s Parade on North Main Street. Lineup for the walking parade that includes bikes, trikes, and wagons along with dogs begins at 10 a.m. at the intersection of North Main and Juniper Avenue next to the Wake Forest College Birthplace. Bikers are encouraged to wear their helmets.
The parade will start at 10:30 a.m., go down North Main and turn right onto North Avenue, then turn left onto Wingate Street and continue on to the R.H. Forrest Field near the Boys & Girls Club where a bevy of volunteers will help with Art-In-The-Park and Games-In-The-Park. All these activities on Saturday are free and open to everyone to have fun with arts and crafts and games like sack races, a tug-of-war, and a watermelon see spitting contest.
Rob Mitchell, chairman of the Wake Forest Fourth of July Committee, said they are trying out this location to see if they like the additional space. Also, the delayed construction for the handicapped ramp at Holding Park next to the pool would make for cramped quarters this year for the games.
Along with the games, Mitchell said there will be a Wake Forest Fire Department fire truck, one of the Wake Forest Police Department K-9 units, at least two bouncy houses (one for children under 3), an inflatable obstacle course and a pie-eating contest.
Remember to thank the people running the arts and crafts and games. They are all volunteers, and many of them have planned and worked on the Fourth celebration for years. The town does provide some money – this year $11,240, up from $5,000 in recent years, to cover the cost of police protection – but the bulk of the money for fireworks, etc., comes from gate and concession receipts from the previous year plus donations and sponsorships. The committee can always use new members. If you enjoyed all the fun this year, join the committee and start planning for 2016. It is a great way to meet a lot of good folks. For information about volunteering, send a note to wfjuly4th@aol.com.
Check out http://www.wakeforestnc.gov/wake-forest-fourth-of-july-celebration-july-3-4-2.aspx for information about smart phone apps and updates.
