Yellow Trail hosting fireworks, festivities on Friday

Residents of Hope and surrounding areas are invited out for an evening of food, fun and fireworks at the 11th annual Old Fashioned Independence Day celebration starting at 5 p.m. Friday, June 28th on the Hope Town Square.

The family-friendly event kicks off with the Little Miss Sparkler and Mr. Firecracker contest at 5:30 p.m., says Barb Johnson, of the Yellow Trail Museum. A regular feature of the celebration, the contest is a chance for children ages 3 to 10 years old to compete by way of penny votes and the girl and boy with most votes will be given a crown and gift bag, Johnson says.

Little Miss Sparkler and Mr. Firecracker will then grab their bikes and lead a bike/trike/stroller parade, open to kids ages 12 and under, on a lap around the square. Kids will line up at the starting line beginning around 5:20 p.m. on the north side of the square near the pump house, Johnson says.

“We encourage parents and grandparents to line up around the square and cheer them on,” Johnson says.

Following the parade, the evening’s events will continue to flow throughout the evening.

The Hartsville Volunteer Fire Department is offering a fish fry and will begin serving around 5 p.m. on the square. But if fish doesn’t tickle the taste buds, additional food options, including hot dogs and sloppy joes, will be offered by the Hope Baptist Church. Those who save room for dessert can participate in a cake walk at the shelter house beginning at 5:45 p.m. or can wait to partake of sweets offered by the Kappa Kappa Sigma Sorority, who will return to this year’s event with the crowd favorite of fruit crisps and ice cream.

Proceeds from this year’s cake walk, hosted by Miller’s Merry Manor, will be donated to the Alzheimer’s Association, Johnson says.
Those who enjoy baking are invited to show off their skills, too, Johnson says. There will be two baking contests, one for kids and one for adults, that will offer cash prizes for first, second and third places.

The evening’s activities will also include sack races, pony rides, a water balloon toss, and a watermelon eating contest.

Susan Thayer Fye, of Main Street of HOPE, says this year’s event features something that has previously not been tried before. Volunteers with Main Street of HOPE will offer a selfie booth where visitors can dress in patriotic colors and costumes with props to commemorate their visit to Hope.

Amidst the food and games, Abraham Lincoln will cruise into town just in time to lead off the bike parade alongside the newly crowned Little Miss Sparkler and Mr. Firecracker, Johnson says. Event goers can get a picture with Honest Abe and event chat with him for a while before he gives a presentation at 7 p.m.

The Banister Family Band, who has played the event for more than 5 years, will return to the bandstand stage around 7 p.m. Roger Banister says he and the band love playing this event because it is unlike any of the others out there.

“It really is an old-fashioned way to do it,” he says. “A lot of people are hanging out with their families. It takes me back in time to when I was a kid and we would go to events like this, watch some fireworks and eat together as a family.”

Banister says the band will offer a blend of patriotic and bluegrass favorites up until the fireworks begin. 

"It will be a mix for different demographics of people,” Banister says. “It is a pretty down-home set list.”

As soon as the last note is struck around 10 p.m., fireworks will light up the Hope sky as they are set off from the west behind the Yellow Trail Museum.
Fye says she and the other organizers are hoping for beautiful weather and a large crowd.

Although she says she considers the biggest draw of the event being that it is catered to kids, there is truly something for everyone that evening.

“I personally attend several 4th of July events, both public and private,” Fye says. “And I have to say, no one does it like Hope does. We do it historic.”