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Masontown to host 4th of July celebration

By Rebekah Sungala 4 min read

MASONTOWN – An event-filled Fourth of July celebration will occur in Masontown thanks to help from community members and local businesses. Kris Kelly, chairwoman of the Masontown Fourth of July Committee, said support for the all-day event has been great.

“We have a lot of people who give a little. It’s everybody reaching in their pockets and coming up with $25, $50 or $100. We don’t have any one person giving us $15,000 and telling us to plan a great event. It’s a lot of people giving what they can, and, to me, that means more than anything because it’s a true community effort,” Kelly said.

Kelly said support from the community is what allows the event to remain free.

“Anyone can come down for the day and not spend a dime unless they want to purchase food from a vendor. Everything else is free – face painting, the petting zoo, the pony rides and all other entertainment doesn’t cost a cent,” she said.

The event will take place Sunday at German-Masontown Park and will begin at noon when Boy Scouts Troop 654 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4584 Color Guard raise the American flag.

Shortly thereafter, the annual pet parade and baked apple pie contest will be held from 12:30 to 1 p.m. The pet parade will give out six awards and will occur on the stage at the park. The baked apple pie contest, judged on taste, will be held in the contest tent and will award a $50 prize.

Masontown Rotary Club will hold its annual races for children from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. on the soccer field. A variety of races will be held, including dashes, sack and three-legged. Every child who participates will be eligible to win a new bicycle and helmet.

A coloring contest for children ages 12 and younger will be held in the main pavilion from 2 to 4 p.m. A $25 prize will be awarded.

In addition, people wishing to compete in either the cake decorating contest or the floral contest, which is new this year, are asked to register in the contest tent between 2:15 and 2:30 p.m. Voting for both contests will be held from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m.

The winner of the cake contest will be announced at 5:45 p.m. and will receive $50.

In addition, each cake competing in the contest will be raffled off to someone who voted for the individual cakes.

Likewise, the winner of the floral contest will be announced at 6 p.m. and each floral arrangement will be raffled off to voters.

Fourth of July committee member Kay Rendina is contest chairwoman and is overseeing the events.

Other activities include face painting for children sponsored by Wellness & Health in Masontown (WHIM) from noon to 4 p.m.

“Jelly Bean” the clown will be on the park grounds from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. and will pass out free balloons to children.

Master magician Chuck Caputo will perform from 3 to 3:45 p.m. in the performance tent and will then walk around the park, mingling with people and performing slight-of-hand tricks through 5:45 p.m.

Free inflatable rides for children – including a 26-foot slide, rock-climbing wall, obstacle course and bounce horse – will be available from 12:30 to 8:30 p.m.

A free petting zoo will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and pony rides also will be offered during that time.

In addition, Hoone’s Martial Arts Academy will sponsor a martial arts exhibition from 4 to 4:45 p.m. on the stage.

As for musical entertainment, “The Vibrations” will take the stage from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and will perform polka music and oldies. Classic rock band “Zig Zag” will perform from 7:45 to 9:45 p.m.

Throughout the day, disc jockey “Dusty Joe” will spin records and a variety of food vendors, organized by Fourth of July committee member Clara Pento, will be located in the park. Game booths also will be up and running.

Fireworks will begin at dusk.

Event organizers stressed that parking is limited at the German-Masontown Park and that a free shuttle bus is being offered. People wishing to use the service are asked to park at the Masontown Volunteer Fire Hall, located at 221 N. Washington St.

The shuttle will drop people off at the Masontown Exchange Club’s lemonade stand and people wishing to leave the park are asked to return to the lemonade stand and a shuttle will be called to pick them up.

Event organizers thanked everyone who donated to this year’s Fourth of July celebration, saying that the event would not be possible without their support.

“For this little town, I think we do a great job of putting something nice on for the community,” Kelly said.

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