As the country prepares to celebrate Independence Day 2019, nowhere is the spirit higher or the sentiment greater than in small town America. O n Thursday, the 4^th of July, Calvin steps up and begins their festivities at 10:00 am with a patriotic parade. Turtle Races will be held right after the parade near the Methodist Church building. The “Kickin’ Grass” lawnmower races will begin at 1:00 pm at the Peanut Plant, and that will be followed by a Cornhole Tournament at the Methodist Arbor. Always fun is the “Calvin Idol” karaoke contest which begins at 3:00 pm at the baseball fi eld.

Dinner will be served, starting at 6:00 pm, under the trees and then it’s time for the Ranch Rodeo, sponsored by Wes and Keri Brines. The teams will enter the arena at 6:30 pm and compete for bragging rights.

The traditional fi reworks display will start at “Dark-Thirty” and the night will end with the Street Dance Quicksand Race at the Peanut Plant.

New to the 4^th of July celebrations is Allen’s planned activities. Not to conflict with the other celebrations, they have set their event for Saturday, July 6^th , with activities being held at both the Allen City Park and the Softball Field.

The morning begins at 9:00 am with a Softball Tournament and Home Run Derby at the field south of town. At the park with be a bounce house, food and merchandise vendors, and much more. Tickets will be sold throughout the day on a 50/50 Raffl e. Vendors selling their wares will include the Softball Boosters selling funnel cakes; the Allen Cheerleaders will offer smoked bologna, homemade ice cream and ice chest tea; also on hand will be Froggy’s Frozen Fluff sno’cones, Christina’s concession wagon and Southern Sass. The Allen Health Clinic and Heather Prentice will be on site and will also aid us with fi rst aid treatment if needed

We are excited for the addition of the dual lane 22 foot water slide provided by Define Your Direction of the Chickasaw Nation, also at the Park, the town’s swimming pool will open at noon and registration will begin at noon for a Corn Hole Tournament (see Melissa Walker, cost will be $20 per team). A hot dog eating contest will be held at 12:30 followed by a Pie Baking Contest with a panel of impartial judges. The Corn Hole Tournament will begin at 1:00 pm, along with a Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest.

A Scavenger Hunt will take place starting at 1:30 pm and that will be followed at 2:00 by Turtle Races. Sack Races, Volley Ball, and a 3-on-3 Basketball Game will be held following the conclusion of the Corn Hole Tournament. Plans are to also add some water balloon games during the afternoon.

Also come try out the Archery Tag games that are also brought to us by the Defi ne Your Direction group.

A Horseshoe contest will begin at 4:00 and then a Tug-of-War contest will end the activities at the Park.

Everyone is then encouraged to move to the softball field where they can enjoy a free barbecue sandwich meal starting at 6:00 pm and music by R.T. Valine and Conner Wilson at 7:00 pm. The winner of the 50/50 Raffle will be announced at 8:00 and a fireworks display will begin at dark.

Event organizers are hoping to make each year’s event bigger and better. They want to extand a huge thanks to everyone who has made a donation, working a booth or shared information for the group. A special thanks to Allen Public Schools for allowing us to use the Softball facilities for games and a venue for the meal and fireworkds display. A list of donors will be listed as it becomes available. They have been overwhelmed by the amount of support received.

So the experience will be fun and safe for everyone we are asking that no outside fireworks be brought to the celebration. The fire departments will be in charge ignighting the fireworks. Remember these are all family oriented venues and we ask that everyone act accordingly. Lets have a fun and safe celebration together as a community.

Make plans to celebrate America and attend the activities of your choice.