MV Volunteers Plan For The 4th

Final efforts are being made this week in preparation for the Moapa Valley 4th of July Celebration to be held on Friday at the Clark County Fairgrounds. Members of the volunteer 4th of July committee met at the fairgrounds last week to coordinate their efforts.

Committee Chairwoman, Jacqulyn Pray, reported that 80% of the fundraising had been done for this year’s fireworks show. She was very satisfied with the fundraising efforts thus far. “We are in a great position considering what a difficult year that it has been for business,” Pray said. “I am so grateful for the business owners rolling up their sleeves and providing for this community event.”

Members of the 4th of July Committee pictured l to r Chris Trombley, Jacqulyn Pray, Adam Hardy, John Stastny, Steve Getz, David Fox, Elwin Brown, Dennis Freeman.

Kids fun begins at 9:00 a.m. with a candy drop by local aviators Travis Marshall and Mike Overson. Marshall and Overson will fly over the Fairgrounds dropping candy from their ultra-light aircraft. “They have been doing the candy drop at this event for something like 13 years,” said Pray. “It is a great service they provide to the children in the community.” After the candy drop, the morning activities begin. Water games for kids will begin at 9:30 and will be sponsored by Clark County Parks and Recreation. The Iron Stomach contests take place in the 10:00 hour. A hot dog eating contest will begin at 10:00 a.m. and will take place in two divisions. The winner of the adult division will receive three yards of concrete from Ready Mix Concrete. The kids division winner will receive $25 cash. At 10:15 the pie eating contest will begin. Adult group winner will receive a prize from Overton True Value/Radio Shack and kids group winner will also receive $25 cash.

Volunteer firefighters from stations 72, 73 and 74 will stage their traditional water fight on the lawn at 10:30. The morning’s festivities will then end with a Watermelon Bust sponsored by the Overton Senior Center.

This year, local families will have additional community activities to enjoy during the heat of the afternoon. Parks and Rec will be opening the community pools for free family swimming between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on July 4. In addition, the Pioneer Theatre in Overton will present a special matinee screening of Wall-E at 2:00 p.m. with special admission of $3 per person.

The evening festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. at the fairgrounds with a flag retreat ceremony. At 7:00 p.m. the doors to the Fine Arts Building will be opened for a BBQ dinner provided by the Moapa Valley Chamber of Commerce. A 4th of July program will begin on the stage at 8:30 p.m. featuring Jonathan Oglesby as Master of Ceremonies. Musical selections will be performed by local youth singers including Megan Potter, Shelby Bennett, Cole Bennett, J.D. Belcher, Terra Stump and others. Local youth essayists Bryanna Sheldon and Autumn Higgins will read their prize winning essays and community service awards will be presented. The evening will end with the grand finale of the community fireworks display beginning at around 9:15 p.m.