NEW KNOXVILLE – The Independence Day Celebration June 28 and 29 at New Knoxville’s Community Park gives visitors a chance to enjoy live entertainment, fun activities and a fireworks show in a relaxed, small town environment.
The event is sponsored by the New Knoxville Park Board. A complete schedule can be found at http://www.nkjuly4.com/schedule/.
Park Board President Mike Chalk said the two-day festival has activities for all ages and interests.
He said sports to watch or perhaps even participate in are June 28’s Night Ranger 5K Walk/Run and the beginning of the Woody A. Piehl Memorial Softball Tournament. Applications to participate in these activities can be found at the Independence Day Celebration website.
On June 29, the softball tourney continues and a tug of war contest will test team spirit and strength. The five-member teams will be coed, and the losers end up in the kiddie pool in the middle of the competition area, according to Chalk.
The kids can get in on the fun with a hot shot and free throw contest for boys and girls in the fourth through eighth grades. Little League teams of third and fourth graders from New Bremen New Knoxville will face off at 3:30 p.m. June 29.
For those who want to take it easier, Chalk said on June 29 music will be celebrated with The Way Choir at 10:30 a.m., and there is bingo and happy hour from 3 to 5 p.m. in the beer tent. A pie contest will be held at noon with judging for the best pie followed by an auction.
Chalk said the greatly expanded Touch a Truck event will have excavators, dump trucks, fire engines, police cars and much more. Other activities include face-painting and children’s inflatables. The night of June 28, families can spread out a blanket and watch an outdoor movie.
Music will keep the mood upbeat. On June 28 the band Brother Believe Me plays while Haywired plays June 29.
Food and refreshments will be available both days. Assistance with concessions come from the New Knoxville Athletic Club, Soccer and Baseball Board and the American Legion. The proceeds from cake wheel benefit the eighth grade class, which is raising money for its Washington, D.C., trip. The New Knoxville High junior class will serve food at the park shelter house raise money for its projects.
Chalk said at 10 p.m. June 29 the event will end on a fittingly patriotic note. He said American Legion Post 444 will lead a singing of the national anthem at 9:45 p.m., and High Tech Special Effects will ignite an amazing fireworks show.
Chalk said proceeds from the event will help the Park Board continue to raise money for a second shelter house, which would feature heat, lights, water, more restrooms and additional soccer fields. He said in the past the board had remodeled the current restrooms and plans to redo the baseball diamonds in the fall.
