One of my favorite 4th July memories happened when I was about 11. My best friend and I decided to get in on the spirit of the holiday and dress our cats up as George and Martha Washington as an entry in our hometown parade. We dressed them in period costumes complete with little white wigs.
Sadly, we never made it to the actual parade. Martha decided she’d had enough and jumped out of the wagon and hid in the bushes, so we spent forever looking for her and missed the whole thing.
KERA’s Morning Edition host Andrew Garcia, has his own memories which include being an integral part to “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
“My small town patriotic claim to fame growing up was playing the crash cymbal during the national anthem in middle school band,” Andrew said.
To tap into the patriotic spirit this year, we found a couple of festivals that have really embraced that small town Fourth of July community spirit.
GARLAND’S RED, WHITE & YOU CELEBRATION
The City of Garland is harnessing the nostalgia of an old-fashioned Fourth of July for its celebration. Mayor Dylan Hedrick, says Garland, population 250,000 has a small -town feel and a reputation for being the biggest small town in Texas.
“We have a brand new downtown square that recently opened last year and we just want to make use of that square,” Mayor Hedrick said. “It's the heart of our city and this is a great opportunity to do so, to bring the community together for a great celebration of America.”
The festival, on July 3, includes food, live music, carnival rides, roller skating, and of course, a 20-minute fireworks display that wraps up the evening.
But the thing that caught our eye was the pie eating contest. What could be more American than eating apple pie on Independence Day?
So, here’s the way the contest goes: 10 contestants race to the bottom of a (very) deep dish apple pie from local pie shop, Piefalootin. It’s hands free, no forks allowed– for the chance to win a $50 gift card for, you guessed it–more pie!
Veronica Maldonado from Visit Garland MCed the event last year. She told us how the contestants fared.
“There were a couple of them that really had to give in fairly quickly because they probably went too fast and the pies were fairly large,” Maldonado said. “Some of them had to step away for a minute or two. Just you know to compose themselves before they could continue finishing their pie. But everyone had a great time.”
LIBERTY BY THE LAKE IN THE COLONY
The Colony’s hometown celebration, on July 4, includes a community parade in the morning, followed by an evening party with rides, live music and a Lucha Libre wrestling competition.
But besides men in tights, the event also spotlights THE iconic Fourth of July fruit with a watermelon eating contest.
Just like the pie-eating, this is another “no hands” competition. You chomp down on a couple of wedges until you see the rind. There are four age groups and they allow 10 people in each category.
Annette Carrico and her team of volunteers from The Colony’s Senior Center, run the event.
“Watermelon always means summer,” Carrico said. “It just takes you back to a younger age and it's lots of fun. It's a big juicy mess.”
Besides being messy fun, this popular event is also one where the girls rule. 11-year-old Amelia Byrd won the blue ribbon in her age group last year.
“I decided to do it because I've always been a really fast eater and it was something fun for 4th of July,” Amelia said. “It was me and my best friend. Her name is Makayla. We had both wanted to do it and she's a slow eater.”
14-year-old Addy Gallardo won the contest the year before last. She’s back this year to hopefully take home watermelon gold again. She said the contest comes with unique challenges.
“One of the things I saw when I did it the first time, was the girl next to me dove in, but she missed, and the watermelon went all on the side of her face.”
For Addy, victory was sweet. Her first-place ribbon still hangs in her room. But also it’s also about the watermelon, which she said she can’t pass up,
What keeps people coming back to celebrate the 4th year after year? The contests, parades and fireworks are part of it., But Maldonado with Visit Garland, said there’s something else.
“The Fourth of July is one of those events that is key to our community,” Maldonado said. “It doesn't matter how warm it may be outside. We're going to come together and have a great time and stick around for the fireworks because it has that hometown feel that our community really embraces.”
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