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THE tiny, historic town of
Southport is preparing to
host about 50,000 people
for its annual North Carolina
4th of July Festival, set to
begin with a welcoming ceremony on
June 30. In addition to the parade that will
take over the streets at 11 a.m. on July 4,
the festival will include a variety of events.
The highlights include the arts and
crafts market, food concessions from
July 1-4, live music, a firefighters com-petition,
and several readings of the
Declaration of Independence. In response
to the popularity of the event last year,
Cape Fear Cruisers is hosting another
classic car and truck show on July 2.
Now in its 227th year, the event has
swelled to include the neighboring,
oceanfront town of Oak Island. There, a
fireworks show will celebrate the birthday
of the town at 9 p.m. on July 1 from the
Oak Island Pier. A beach day with sand
sculpture building, volleyball and bocce
ball contests, along with a shag compe-tition
and evening entertainment, is also
scheduled.
“We are thrilled to have a full schedule
of events between Southport and Oak
Island,” says Trisha Howarth, press chair
of the festival. “We hope the public enjoys
every day of the festival. After two years of
reduced activities, we are delighted with
this year’s schedule and continuing to
promote patriotism during the Fourth of
July celebrations.”
In keeping with its mission of promot-ing
patriotism, the festival will include a
veterans’ recognition ceremony and a flag
retirement ceremony, as well as a military
and first-responder equipment exhibition.
The flag-raising ceremony, set to take
place on July 4, will feature a colonial
band with citizens dressed in period cos-tumes
playing the drum and fife.
The event traces its origins to 1795, and
it was recorded in a Southport newspaper.
Known as the Festival of Free Men, it was
BY FRITTS CAUSBY Blast Off! Southport readies for Fourth of July festivities
ZEB STARNES ZEB STARNES ZEB STARNES
20 july 2022
WBM
ZEB STARNES