Moapa Valley Progress
Moapa Valley will be holding its annual Independence Day celebration in the usual grand manner at the Clark County Fairgrounds on Thursday July 4.
This year the theme for the festivities will be “Independence Day, the Moapa Valley Way.” This theme is meant to recognize around 150 years of Independence Day celebration in Moapa Valley.
“There have been some mixed interpretations about when the actual 150th anniversary of Moapa Valley’s settlement is,” said 4th of July committee coordinator Kasen Kolhoss. “Either way we have decided to focus on that heritage in this year’s celebration.”
The committee is encouraging people to share their photos of past Moapa Valley July 4th celebrations. They can be old photos of historic celebrations past, or they can be newer photos of more recent times, Kolhoss said. The important thing is that they highlight the local community’s unique way of celebrating Independence Day.
Photos will be displayed in a special slide show exhibit at this year’s July 4 celebration. They can be sent electronically to Kolhoss at kkolhoss@gmail.com or they can be posted at the celebration’s Facebook page located at “Moapa Valley Independence Day Celebration”. To submit hard copy photos call Kolhoss at 702-305-6870 to arrange to have them scanned.
The morning of the 4th of July will start out with the Flag Raising at 7:00 am at the central flagpole near the fairgrounds entrance. 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, Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts – and their leaders – are encouraged to arrive by 6:45 am and participate in full uniform.
Immediately after the flagraising ceremony, the fun begins, starting with breakfast.
The Rotary Club members will pull out their trailer kitchen and prepare a great pancake breakfast. Every year they feed approximately 500 people breakfast at no charge. A portion of the food is donated by local businesses and vendors, but most of the breakfast is paid for by the MV Rotary Club.
The kids are always excited for breakfast to be over so they can start playing. At 9:00 am the Children’s Patriot Parade begins. Kids can decorate their bikes, tricycles, wagons or just themselves in patriotic colors. They then march in a parade around the fairgrounds. Decorations are provided by Karen Alsum Insurance Agency and Cals Repair Center.
The Parks and Rec staff takes over from there at about 9:30. A variety of games and activities are offered to youngsters. A watermelon eating contest will take place at 10:15 am. The traditional Firefighters’ Water Fight to cool down celebration participants will begin at around 10:30 am.
The festivities then take a break during the heat of the afternoon hours.
Later on in the day, a flag retreat ceremony will be held by local veterans organizations beginning at 6:00 pm.
The Moapa Valley Chamber of Commerce then provides a free BBQ dinner for the community which begins at 6:15 pm.
For many years, Logandale resident Scott Carson and his family have been on hand to serve up shave ice treats as a cool dessert for the summer holiday. But this year Scott is away serving a mission for his church. So Anderson Dairy has stepped in to fill this void. The dairy will provide ice cream to put a final finish to the community meal.
While the dinner is going on, there will be live music featuring local entertainers on the outdoor stage. This lineup of acts will be coordinated by Overton resident Rick Houston.
The pre-firework program begins at 8:30 pm. Special awards will be presented. These include the Moapa Valley Community Service Award which goes to someone who has spent and exemplary amount of time in helping and serving their Moapa Valley neighbors. Also the Community Spirit Award will be awarded to someone who has exhibited the values and ideals of the Moapa Valley community.
The National Anthem is scheduled to be performed at 8:55 p.m. This year it will be sung by Kali Romero.
Immediately following that, the fireworks display begins! The fireworks are paid for through local fundraising efforts. A large part will be donated by a number of generous Moapa Valley businesses.
Kolhoss reminds that no glass containers or alcohol are allowed on the fairgrounds for the community celebration. In addition, members of the public are prohibited from bringing their own fireworks to the event. No outside fireworks, sparklers or other firedisplays will be allowed.
For a full schedule of this year’s July 4th festivities got to page A3 of this edition.
