The Fourth of July this year marks the nation’s 250th birthday.
Usually, Independence Day celebrations in Petersburg start on July 3 with street games and fireworks. But after 10 years of organizing the 3rd of July street games, Petersburg’s Lighthouse Church stepped away from the task this year.
KFSK’s Baiz Hoen talked to Kelli Slaven with the Chamber of Commerce, and Julie Anderson with Parks and Recreation, who are on the committee for planning this year’s event. They said the festivities are going to be a bit different — lots of live music, but less games.
Listen here:
TRANSCRIPT:
Baiz Hoen: So what is happening this year? Why is it going to be so different from last year?
Julie Anderson: Well, a big change is the Lighthouse Church was such a big influence on the 3rd of July for the last 10 years, and they’ve moved on, doing other things. And so the 3rd of July is evolving and we’re changing things up a little bit.
We still have the vendors in the morning, but instead of having games and such downtown, we’re gonna have live music. So it’s gonna be more of a local music fest downtown on the 3rd.
Kelli Slaven: Yeah. All local, which is fantastic.
Julie Anderson: We’ve got wonderfully talented people in our community.
Baiz Hoen: Can you give us a sneak peek at all, or is it gonna be a surprise?
Kelli Slaven: I think we can. Starting at 10:00 a.m., we have Sarah Sea (Sarah C. Hanson-Hofstetter).
Julie Anderson: And then after that, at 11:30 is the Ukulele Ladies.
Kelli Slaven: Uke’a Ladies are always a fun group.
Julie Anderson: Then next up is, MC Squared (MC2). That’s kind of a cute one. Alec and Nicole McMurrin, they’re a husband and wife duo.
Kelli Slaven: Pendulum is up next from 12:30 to 1:00 p.m.
And the last one is Del Gatto.
Julie Anderson: Then in the evening we have K1NFOLK that will be performing from 7:30 to 10:30, right before the fireworks. They’ll be at Kito’s Kave. They won’t be on the main stage, but they will be performing for a couple hours down there. And just the energy that they bring is fantastic.
Kelli Slaven: So, the 3rd of July is a whole day of music.
Julie Anderson: That’s such a beautiful way to start the holiday.
Baiz Hoen: And then in the 2:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. period, is that when everybody goes home, rests up?
Julie Anderson: Well, the vendors will still be open downtown until 5:00 p.m.
There’ll be a car show from noon to 5:00 p.m..
The herring toss starts at 3:00 p.m. in the harbor.
Parks and Rec will have an open house, which will have bounce castles, sumo suits. We’ll have pickleball outside for people to play if they’d like.
Kelli Slaven: Oh, that’s fun.
Julie Anderson: And one addition that I think is really exciting for the morning is Friends of the Bike Park are putting on a Tot Jam from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. The bike park’s out by Sandy Beach, right on the corner.
Kelli Slaven: You could start your day off at the bike park, have some fun there, and then head on over to Parks and Rec and enjoy some lunch.
Julie Anderson: Yes, we will be doing burgers, chips, and some fruit for lunch. Then it’ll just lead right into other things going on around the community.
Baiz Hoen: How has the planning been going so far now that you are taking on the whole festival?
Kelli Slaven: I think it’s going well. Julie’s amazing to work with. I feel like we balance each other out pretty well.
Julie Anderson: We run well together. And we have so many people volunteering throughout the community. It’s not just us planning.
Kelli Slaven: It’s not just Julie and I.
Julie Anderson: Yeah. It really takes on a whole community to make these events happen.
Baiz Hoen: What is the theme this year?
Julie Anderson: USA 250 — Fueled by Freedom, Driven by Community. So that is actually what the theme is for the parade.
So when we have contestants that would like to be judged in the parade, they’re aiming their float or their walk or whatnot toward that.
I wanna say that we have the greatest, shortest parade that I’ve ever been to. Because it really lasts only about seven to eight minutes.
Kelli Slaven: This year we’re really trying to push for people to sign up to be in the parade. It just kinda gives the parade a little bit more of a feel so people know who they’re looking at and what groups are walking through.
Julie Anderson: Right, and it’s nice if you’ve named your float or your group, because then it gives it a little more pizzazz.
Baiz Hoen: Is there a deadline for people to sign up for the parade?
Julie Anderson: There is no specific deadline. You can sign up as you line up. Somebody will come down the line and make sure your name’s on the list.
Baiz Hoen: Why do you think so much change has been happening in the past year, couple years?
Julie Anderson: I think it’s just time. Everything has to evolve. It’s not a bad thing, it’s not a good thing, it’s just part of life.
Baiz Hoen: And what would you say to people who are not as accepting of change?
Kelli Slaven: There’s plenty of chances to volunteer to help out.
Julie Anderson: There are.
Kelli Slaven: People are gonna notice a change this year, but it’s going to be okay. And moving forward, maybe those who really notice the change can help out a little bit next year or they can come up with some other ideas.
Julie Anderson: And it’s about the community, it’s not about us.
We’re just doing what we can do to help the community put on a great event.
I’m really excited about the music.
Kelli Slaven: It’s such a good vibe too when there’s local music going, and the people are busy in the streets. It kinda brings that whole Hallmark feeling that we seem to really love here in this town.
Julie Anderson: I think it’ll be great to have people downtown dancing, bringing kids down there. I think it’s going to be a good vibe.
This transcript has been edited for clarity.
