Jun 26, 2008

The local community will celebrate Independence Day with a number of big events planned in the area, beginning with the annual program at Heart of the Ozarks Healthcare Center this Friday night, June 27. On Saturday night, June 28, Southern Construction will hold its big 4th of July Celebration at Brown Branch, and on Sunday evening, Highway Church of the Nazarene north of Ava will sponsor its annual Celebrate America event. On Friday, July 4, the annual Squires Picnic will be held. Heart of the Ozarks Heart of the Ozarks has activities for all ages to enjoy, from the inflatable games to bingo, and a full slate of entertainment. The featured group this year will be the Bressler Brothers Bluegrass Band that has entertained many times at Thursday Nite Music in Ava. Entertaining in addition to the Bresslers will be the Kingdom Kids from the Bradleyville area, the Honeybee Singers, and the McCullough Brothers. There will also be food booths, arts and crafts vendors, a dunking booth, a trout fishing pond, and various other kids games and activities. Of course, the evening will be capped off with a huge fireworks display at dark. This event continues to get bigger each year, and with traffic congested on the hill, folks are encouraged to use the shuttle parking on Murphy’s lot at the bottom of the hill, at the location of the former Murphy’s General Store. While parking is provided free at the nursing home, First Southern Baptist Church also provides free shuttle service from the Murphy’s lot. The church bus runs continually, making a circuit about every 15 minutes throughout the evening, so even if you ride the shuttle, you can come and go when you please. If the event is rained out on Friday night, July 18 has been selected as a rain date. (The Douglas County Fair is July 10, 11 and 12). Bring your lawn chairs or a blanket to spread on the lawn, and plan to celebrate the Fourth of July with all your friends and neighbors. This week, Heart of the Ozarks revealed the contents of some of the baskets and merchandise to be sold by silent auction on Friday night. This collection includes a complete camping outfit including a tent, a grill basket, a tool basket, a fishing basket, a women’s basket, a “Just a Guy” basket, a summertime activity basket, and a special chocolate basket. There will also be “a ton” of Branson show tickets offered, as well as an air conditioner. The sale of these baskets and collections of merchandise is used to fund the next year’s event. All the activities at Heart of the Ozarks begin at 6 p.m. Southern Construction Lonnie and Linda Combs of Southern Construction will host their 15th annual 4th of July Celebration on Saturday night, June 28, beginning at 5 o’clock. This event is held at Southern’s shop at Brown Branch. There will be music by the Ozark Bluegrass Boys, turtle races, horseshoe pitching and buffalo chip tossing. Dinner will be served at 7 p.m. Hamburgers, hot dogs, potatoes, dinnerware and soft drinks will be provided. Please bring covered dishes to complement the meal, and don’t forget your lawn chairs. There will be a huge fireworks display at dark. Celebrate America The Kelly’s, from Norwood, and the Calvarymen, from Hartville, will provide live music from a brand new open-air stage at Celebrate America on Sunday evening, June 29, at Highway Church of the Nazarene. This 7th annual event will get under way at 5:30, with activities for the entire family. There will be inflatable games, a rock climbing wall, a kid’s train, pony rides, and other activities. There will also horseshoe pitching and lots of food. Snack items will include popcorn, sno-cones and cotton candy, or a full meal will be available, ranging from burgers to pulled pork, hot dogs and Frito pies. There will also be a dessert bar, with homemade cobblers and ice cream. Skydivers are scheduled to land at the performance (weather permitting), and a National Guard Black Hawk helicopter will be on display. There will also be a special patriotic tribute at 7 p.m. The Kelly’s will kick off the entertainment portion of the program at 5:30 with gospel and bluegrass gospel music, and at 8 p.m. the Calvarymen will present a gospel concert. Following the gospel concert, at about 9:30 p.m., there will be a fireworks display, choreographed to music by Lantis Fireworks & Lasers. This professional program, which will be orchestrated by Ava’s own Chris Davis, is by the same company that provides fireworks every night at Celebration City in Branson. Highway Church of the Nazarene is located five miles north of Ava on Old Highway 5. Admission is free at this event, and there is plenty of free parking available. Bring your lawn chairs or a blanket to spread on the ground and plan to enjoy the entire evening. Squires Picnic The 26th annual Squires Picnic will be held on Friday night, July 4, beginning at 5 p.m. Located eight miles south of Ava on Highway 5, the event is held on the grounds of the Squires Fire Department, across the road from Spurlock’s Store. Live entertainment will be performed by local groups throughout the evening, with fireworks concluding the program after dark. There will be arts and crafts on display, along with various food items including burgers, hot dogs, Nachos, soda, popcorn, cotton candy, a cake walk and homemade ice cream. In case of rain on July 4 the event will be held the following evening, on July 5. The schedule of performers is as follows: 5:00 – Cindy Smith and Glen Dale Robertson; 5:40 – Harlan Davis and Hometown Express; 6:20 – Springcreek; 7:00 – Porter Family Quartet; 7:40 – Hunter Creek; 8:20 – Rolla Swofford; 9:00 – Erin Akers and David Richardson.