Homer knows how to celebrate the Fourth of July.
July 3 and 4th the town will play host to seven different bands at village hall located at 500 E. Second Street during the Homer Freedom and Music Festival.
Thursday at 4 p.m. Kolton Taylor and the Truck Toppers will perform followed by X-Crush.
July Fourth will include performances by The Wise Guys, Logan Allen, Caleb Cook Band, BoarderTown and Company and Big Guns.
“Most of our musical guests that we’ve hosted were contacted by our band coordinator, Perry Dable, who has made many great connections with local groups throughout his music career,” said Homer Recreation Board member Casey Phillips. “We also keep an eye out on social media for recommended acts that are performing nearby so we can check them out and offer them a festival slot if their schedule allows for it.”
Phillips said the committee plans the event for almost a year.
“We meet a couple weeks after to take the opportunity to review what went well and what we need to continue to work on,” she said. “Then we start the process of building next year’s entertainment schedule and rebooking music acts that were crowd favorites. By the end of the year, we have a pretty good picture of what we’re aiming at for the next one.”
This year the committee is holding Kid’s Bingo. Several sponsors have contributed prizes and there will be two opportunities for kids to play with their families on Friday in the air conditioned community building and then they’re invited to a dance party at 6:30 p.m.
The committee also has a scavenger hunt that kids of all ages can participate in and be entered into a drawing for prizes that will be announced during the dance party, Phillips said.
The Freedom Parade will take place July 4 at 11 a.m.
The parade starts at Heritage Elementary School and ends at Homer Village Hall.
Line up starts at 10:30 a.m.
“We welcome businesses and local organizations to jump in to promote themselves and also any individuals that would like to participate with a vehicle or golf cart,” Phillips said. “We’ve had some great crowds over the years when the weather behaved and would love for this to continue growing.”
Phillips said the event is only possible because of the countless hours the Homer residents volunteer.
“Our volunteers and sponsors are the heart of this event,” she said. “Without either of them, we couldn’t pull this off and we are deeply grateful to both because manpower and finances ultimately control what we can offer.”
Phillips said the committee posts a post a sign up link to get the word out that they have various small jobs volunteers can pick from and the committee members’ families help with the set up and tear down.
“We understand that time off and being with loved ones is important so we keep things as flexible as possible to accommodate anyone willing to give a hand,” she said.
Phillips also credited the sponsors of the event for making it possible.
“Several volunteers in our group are small business owners and we understand the struggle of wanting to support their community while also struggling to keep their doors open,” she said. “These sponsors are precious to us because they stepped up and believed in us when we first started this event when they had the most to lose and they are our biggest cheerleaders still today. We hope to make them and all of our volunteers proud to be a part of this and they will come back for another year.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.