Celebrate Fourth of July with Kiwanis Club of Dothan

The Kiwanis Club of Dothan has an invitation for the Wiregrass community - come and celebrate the Fourth of July with them at the National Peanut Festival Fairgrounds.

“It’s a great time for us to celebrate our nation’s birth,” said Dr. Adair Gilbert, club president, during a press conference held last week to announce this year’s event schedule. “The Kiwanis Club of Dothan has sponsored this event for three years. It just gets better every year.”

Dr. Gilbert noted, during these uncertain economic times, people are looking for ways to have a good time without a tremendous expense. She believes the Family Fourth Celebration will provide family entertainment that will not hurt the family budget.

“We’re going through a tough time as a nation,” Dr. Gilbert said. “And it has filtered down, locally. But we can still celebrate our nation’s birth on the local level. One way we are helping to make that happen is by offering advanced tickets for $5 per person. At the gate, they will be $10 per person.”

All proceeds go toward projects that help children.

The event will be held from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m., and organizers promise that it will be a day filled with activities. Many of those activities will be geared toward children.

“As a Kiwanis Club, we’re all about children,” Dr. Gilbert continued. “That’s what the Fourth of July is all about. We encourage parents to bring their children.”

The Kids Play Zone, sponsored by American Classifieds, will open at 10 a.m. and run until dusk. This area will feature four water slides. Visitors are encouraged to pack a swimsuit, sunscreen and a towel to take part.

“We will have four of biggest water slides in the area,” said Patrick Liester of American Classifieds. “We will also have several bouncy inflatables for the children.”

Buffalo Rock Pepsi is providing two stages for entertainment. The set-up will be a dual-stage amphitheater that will allow visitors to easily navigate between the two venues. Some of the artists scheduled to perform include Heaven’s Island (steel drum band), Franklin Washington (an R&B singer from Atlanta), Seth and Willie Fred (Southern humorists and entertainers), Righteous Sin (rock and roll), Big and Loud (country and patriotic), PBM (a reggae band from Montgomery), Cold September (classic rock), Aerias (contemporary) and Tigertown Band (classic country, do-wop rock and more).

With the focus of the event on families, Wiregrass Electric Cooperative will provide the Family Fun Pavilion. Free train rides will be provided from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. At 4 p.m., family games, including a sack race and a watermelon seed-pinching contest will take place).

“The Family Fun Pavilion will provide a cooling station, train rides and much more,” said Janet Henderson of Wiregrass Electric Cooperative. “We also have a special event planned at 6 p.m. We will have a watermelon eating contest featuring many of our local politicians.”

With summer temperatures upon us, event organizers have made arrangements to help visitors beat the heat. Knology will provide a Kool Tent that will feature cool mist to refresh the participants.

Another highlight of the day is the New South Cruisers Car Show. Registration to participate will be from 8-11 a.m. The fee is $15 per car. The cars will be on display until 3 p.m. Awards will be handed out in 25 divisions and categories.

“In our first year, we had 60-plus cars entered,” David Plunkett said. “Last year, we had 140-plus cars. This year, we are anticipating 200 cars. And we will have the gamut when it comes to cars.”

For those into arts and crafts, vendors from throughout the area will be set up indoors and outdoors for visitors to peruse. A large food court, including the Kiwanis Dining Tent, will be available to tackle the need for food.

What would a Fourth of July be without a fireworks show? Never fear. Once the sun goes down and darkness settles over the area, Pyrotecnico Inc. will once again put the “Red, White and Boom” into the Family Fourth Celebration.

“They are bringing in a $12,000 show for this event,” said Kerry Farrell of The Main Event. “They put on a very good show last year.”

The fireworks show will bring to a close a day filled with family activities.

For more information about the Family Fourth Celebration or to purchase advance tickets, visit http://www.Family4thCelebration.com. A list of a ticket locations is on the Web site. Children 12 and under are admitted free. The $5 advance tickets are available through July 3 or until supplies are exhausted.