Thursday, July 2, 2015
Happy Birthday, America! Time for Family-Fun to Celebrate!
Lots of families have different traditions to celebrate holidays and the 4th of July is no exception! Why not add or start a new tradition with a couple of events happening in Columbus this weekend that will be the perfect addition to your festive line-up of fun?!
First up, there's the annual Fourth of July Parade at the Springer Opera House. This thing has gotten bigger and better each year and in fact, this will be the first year there will be a police escort and they'll be closing the block on Broadway between 10th and 11th Streets...just to make it safer and everyone can have a better view. There are a lot of theatre students involved in the parade and they never disappoint because they all get decked out in their wildest and most photogenic of patriotic costumes! All the fun here starts at 10:00am at the Mainstage Springer entrance on 10th Street, so get ready to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, sing lots of patriotic songs, make a racket with noise makers and musical instruments and who know what else they have planned to proclaim our thankfulness for the United States of America!
And while you're in the neighborhood, plan a little extra time to wander through all the treasures you can find at Market Days on Broadway. That will run until 12:00pm or so on Saturday. Just at tip, if you want the organic eggs, get to that booth early!!
Then, pile everyone in the car and head to the southern part of town for a BIG to-do! The National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center will host its third annual community-wide Independence Day celebration on Saturday, July 4. Freedom Fest will be held from 11a.m. to 6 p.m., and will be filled with music, kids’ activities, cannon firings, historical reenactments, food, and fun. All day, kids will enjoy bounce houses, face and hair painting, balloon animals and Superheroes. The Pint-Sized Patriot Parade starts at 2 p.m. Youngsters are invited to dress up their bicycles, tricycles, and wagons – and themselves! – and parade down Heritage Walk accompanied by John Philip Sousa marches. Judges will award prizes for the most creative displays of patriotism. In the museum’s Grand Hall, parents can get free ID kits for their children through the GaCHIP program. There’ll be live music throughout the day from Tim Maggart, the Oneeders and the Wayne Miner Band just outside the museum’s rotunda. Large tents will provide seating and shelter from the sun for audiences, but visitors are welcome to bring lawn chairs and blankets. The Silver Wings Parachute Demonstration Team is expected to drop in at Inouye Field at 2:30 p.m.
New this year will be demonstrations by iK9, an Auburn, Alabama, organization that trains service dogs to assist veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. World War II Company Street will be open for self-guided tours between 11a.m. and 3 p.m. Volunteers will be on hand to help visitors locate names on the Vietnam Wall, and the Memorial Walk of Honor will be open all day.
The IMAX Theatre will be the perfect place to cool off, with alternating screenings of D-Day 3D: Normandy 1944 and We the People for just $5 per person. Visitors can purchase ice cream, barbecue plates, chicken sandwiches, funnel cakes, hot dogs, hamburgers, pretzels, beer, frozen mocktails and soft drinks from our vendors. The Fife and Drum restaurant and the IMAX concessions stand will be open for diners who would rather stay indoors.
The museum’s activities will end at 6 p.m. Visitors will be encouraged to head to uptown Columbus or Phenix City for a concert in the riverside amphitheater and fireworks at dark. The fun by the river begins at 6:30pm.
Looks like a fun-filled weekend...enjoy it with your family! And Happy Birthday, America!