By STEPHANIE BUNKER
Moapa Valley Progress
Moapa Valley will be celebrating Independence Day in the usual grand manner at the Clark County Fairgrounds on Tuesday next week. This year the theme for the celebration will be “Holding up the Home Front.” Honoring and helping the families of the military is the main focus that goes along with the theme.
Friends of the Fourth of July member Lori Houston said, “Being in the military is a lifetime commitment, it’s not just while they are deployed or in active duty. We want to make sure those military families that need help have the things available to them.”
The morning of the 4th of July will start out with the Flag Raising at 7:00 am. The VFW Post 8336 and the American Legion Post 75, along with the local Boy Scout Troops will lead the Flag ceremony. All area Boy Scouts and their leaders are encouraged to come a few minutes early and participate in full uniform.
The flag raising ceremony is always a sacred time of reflection of the freedoms enjoyed in the great country of the United States of America.
After a prayer and moment of silence, the fun begins, starting with breakfast.
The Rotary Club breakfast begins right after the flag ceremony at about 7:30. Rotarians pull out their trailer kitchen and prepare a great pancake breakfast for an extremely large group of people. Every year they feed approximately 500 people breakfast at no charge. A portion of the food is donated, but most of the breakfast is paid for by the Rotary Club.
The kids are always excited for breakfast to be over so they can start playing. At 9:00 am the Children’s Parade begins. Decorations are provided by Karen Alsum Insurance Agency and Cals Repair Center. The Parks and Rec takes over from there and hosts a candy drop, cool water games, and the watermelon bust. Another favorite is the Firefighters’ Water Fight where Clark County Volunteer Fire Stations 72, 73, and 74 bring the fire engines and spray water over the grassy fields filled with the morning’s attendees.
The festivities then take a break during the heat of the afternoon hours. But the fun resumes later on. A flag retreat ceremony is held by local veterans organizations at 6:00 pm.
The Chamber of Commerce gathers donations from businesses in the valley in order to provide a good dinner for the community which begins at 6:15 pm. Kevin and Suzie Bennett as well as Scott and Linda Carson take charge of planning and preparing thedinner. The highlights of the free dinner will be pulled pork sandwiches and Hawaiian shaved ice.
Simplot will donate meat and bottled water for the meal. Scott Carson donates the shaved ice. Sugar’s will pitch in for the BBQ sauce. Xtreme Stitch will be donating the potato chips. As always, Lin’s Marketplace will be a big sponsor in donating a number of other essential items for the meal.
Suzie Bennett serves Moapa Valley with pleasure. “I love our valley,” she said. “I love that this event brings families together to enjoy each other and share with others.”
While the dinner is going on there will be live music featuring local entertainers on the outdoor stage.
The pre-firework program begins at 8:30 pm. Special awards will be presented and there will be a tribute to local military families. The National Anthem is scheduled at 8:55 p.m., being sung by Logandale resident Dave Robison. Immediately following that, the firework show begins! The fireworks are funded local fundraising efforts with the large part donated by a number of generous Moapa Valley businesses.
For a full schedule of this year’s July 4th festivities go to the top of page A3 in this edition.
