Friday, June 28, 2002
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Friday, June 28, 2002 |
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Thousands expect for July 4 festivities By JOHN
THOMPSON
The Newnan Rotary Club's annual Fourth of July fireworks celebration will cap off a full Independence Day of activities in Coweta County. As always, the annual fireworks show will be held at Newnan High School's Drake Stadium and feature live music and a salute to Coweta County veterans. The Celebrate Freedom 2002 event is expected to draw thousands of citizens to LaGrange Street and the high school as it has since the local club began the evening fireworks show and concert series in the mid-1980s. The event features $1 concessions, a variety of live music, children's games and events, including clowns, a "bounce house," and a three-legged race, and is capped off by a 30-minute fireworks show set to music. Coweta County, the city of Newnan and local businesses sponsor the fireworks show each year. Festivities start at 6:30 p.m., following the city of Newnan's Fourth of July Parade. The parade begins in downtown Newnan and ends at Newnan High School, and organizers are encouraging families to come down to Drake Stadium for dinner and the start of the first of several local bands who will lead up to the twilight fireworks show. The lineup for the festivities includes: 6:30: the NOBS 7:15: Brush Fire Blue Grass Band 7:45: The Patriots 8:15: Brush Fire Blue Grass Band 8:45: Welcome - John White, Master of Ceremonies, Newnan Rotary Club and Amazing Grace played on bagpipes. 9:00: Invocation by The Rev. Don Helms, SonRise Baptist Church, presentation of colors, National Anthem and God Bless America by the Word of Life Chorale, pledge of allegiance led by state Rep. Lynn Smith. 9 p.m.-Newnan School of Gymnastics 9:05 p.m.-The Patriots 9:30 p.m.-Salute to the U.S. Armed Forces featuring local veterans and service personnel, God Bless the U.S.A. - Larry Jackson, Fireworks "The event and the attendance have grown larger each year," with an estimated 15,000 or more attending the event, said Rotary fireworks organizer Marvin McCoy. "But this year we've made some changes that will make it even more spectacular. The music and festivities are going to be great, and the fireworks show is going to be better than ever." There will be plenty of room for an even larger crowd in and around Drake Stadium, but McCoy encourages everyone to arrive early, and perhaps even park in downtown Newnan for the parade and walk down to NHS for ease of parking.
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