Published: June 28, 2008 02:43 pm            

Kiwanis 4th Celebration to feature music, food and huge fireworks display

With gas prices at record levels, many people will be staying close to home this Fourth of July and the place to be is Pauls Valley for the annual Kiwanis Fourth of July celebration.

The Pauls Valley Kiwanis Club is planning one of the biggest Fourth of July celebrations in recent years, complete with a massive fireworks display as the finale to an evening of music, food and family fun.

“We’re spending about $4,000 more on this year’s fireworks display and we’ve made some changes to the show itself,” noted Lorin Jacobson, coordinator of Friday’s fireworks show.

Jacobson said there will be more aerial displays this year and there won’t be an intermission as in year’s past.

“Also, we have cut out the waterfall display. While it’s been a popular display in year’s past, it has been an expensive one and we felt the money could go into a larger aerial display,” he added.

Pauls Valley has traditionally had the largest manually lit fireworks show between Oklahoma City and Dallas and Jacobson said this year’s show will be even bigger with the additional money spent ($15,000 total) and the added aerial displays.

The evening will begin at 6:30 p.m. with live music from Banana Seat, a 10-piece band from the Oklahoma City metro area.

“We’re very excited to have Banana Seat as our band this year. The group is in high demand and is very entertaining,” said Kiwanis President Howard Grider.

The Pauls Valley Kiwanis Club will be serving grilled hamburgers and hot dogs along with plenty of Pepsi products to drown any thirst.

Main Street Pauls Valley will join in the festivities with the annual World Championship Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest.

Registration for the contest will begin at 6 p.m. at the MSPV tent. The contest will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Anthony Ygumans spit his way to the 2007 World Watermelon Seed Spitting Championship last year by spitting a watermelon seed 34 feet, 3 inches during the Fourth of July festivities at Thompson Field.

Sabra Landers took the Women's Division with a winning spit of 30 feet, 1 inch and came in second place.

An added feature to this year’s celebration is the Toy and Action Figure Museum’s Corvette give away. For several weeks the museum has been selling chances to win a yellow Corvette filled with action figures and toys.

The winner of the Corvette will be drawn Friday night prior to the fireworks show. Chances for the car are still being sold at $100 each at the Toy and Action Figure Museum or chances can be purchased Friday night at the stadium.

Just prior to the fireworks display, there will be a special patriotic ceremony to honor all military personnel who have and are continuing to serve America and protect the freedoms we cherish. The ceremony will include the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem sung by Pauls Valley’s own Missy Rude.

The celebration is one of the biggest fund raisers for the Kiwanis Club. Money raised at this event goes to help defray some of the costs of the celebration, plus money is raised to support the various community service programs of the Pauls Valley Kiwanians.

        

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