Local celebrations for this year's Independence Day kick off Saturday, June 30, in Century and wind up on Wednesday, July 4, in Poarch, Jay and East Brewton.
Century
Century's festivities will begin at 3 p.m., Saturday, June 30, at Anthony Pleasant Park, with food trucks, food vendors, live entertainment and much more.
Music will begin at 3:15 with DJ music, then at 3:30, the musical group Jewelstones will play until 4. Following more DJ music, the Sawmill Bluegrass Band will play from 4 to 5:30. More DJ music will lead off Ricky Crook and the Horseshoe Halo Band from 6 to 8 p.m.
Concessions will be available and the proceeds will benefit the Little League Association. Bouncey houses will be set up for the kids at Showalter Park.
The Independence Day Celebration will conclude at dusk with the fireworks display. Guests are encouraged to bring chairs to sit in and enjoy the festivities and fireworks.
Jay
The town of Jay will kick off its celebration at 8 a.m., Wednesday, July 4, with a Celebration Freedom 5K Run at Bray-Hendricks Park. To pre-register for the race, visit http://www.active.com and fill out a pre-registration form and pay $20 or mail in the pre-registration form found at http://www.dobsonduo.weebly.com with an entry fee of $20. Registration the day of the race will begin at 6:30 a.m. and the fee is $25. The first 75 registered runners are guaranteed a T-shirt.
At 1 p.m., there will be a co-ed softball tournament for adults 14 and older, sponsored by the Jay Junior League. Churches, co-workers, families and friends are invited to register their teams. Teams with 11 players pay an entrance fee of $100, with $10 each after the 11th player. Teams can register the day of the tournament at the park. Anyone interested can contact Erica Hart at 850-791-4360 or Facebook message or email [email protected].
Then at 6 p.m., there will be music, food and fun with bar-b-que sandwiches, hot dogs, shaved ice, cow train rides, face painting and bouncy houses for the entire family. Live music will be provided by Jonathan McCullough and the Heavenly Trumpets Trio.
The fireworks show will include patriotic music and begin about dark.
Poarch
The Wind Creek Casino and Hotel in Poarch will have fireworks at 9 p.m., Wednesday, July 4, at the amphitheater.
There is no charge to see the fireworks show.
East Brewton
The city of East Brewton is not only celebrating Independence Day, but also the town's 100th anniversary, so festivities will begin at 9 a.m., Wednesday, July 4, at the Community Center with a spades tournament.
Bingo will be from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., with a horseshoe tournament and water slide until 5 p.m.
From 5 to 5:20 p.m., Lois Crenshaw will perform, followed by Wanda Green and Yvonne Lisenby until 5:40 p.m. Tonya Graves will perform from 5:40 to 6 p.m.
The annual Duck Race, sponsored by Georgia Pacific, offers double the prize money this year in celebration of the town's anniversary. First place is $500, second place is $200, third place is $100 and fourth place is $50. Ducks can be purchased for $5 from now until 5 p.m. on July 4 at the East Brewton Civic Center.
At 6:30, Melissa Cosey will perform followed by Olivia Neal at 6:50, then Ben Murphy until 7:30 p.m.
At 8, High Horse Band will play until 9:30, when the fireworks will begin.
Everyone is invited to come out and enjoy the festivities for some family fun to celebrate our nation's independence.
