Independence Day celebration planned in Sulphur Springs
SULPHUR SPRINGS — Folks in the little town of Sulphur Springs are hard at work preparing for their annual Independence Day celebration. The population of the city is expected to swell during the event this Saturday, June 25, as dozens of activities are planned for all ages.
The day’s events will begin at 7:30 a.m. with a pancake breakfast in the city park, and at 8 a.m. fishing will begin in the popular fishing derby. There will be three age groups for fishing with trophies awarded for biggest catch in each group. Fishing derby participants should bring their own bait and tackle and will be asked to register at a table set up near the lake.
A car show will be held, with registration from 10 a.m. to noon. Judging of the cars will be held at 1 p.m., with awards presented around 2:30 p.m. Registration fee for each vehicle (car, truck, bike) is $10. The first 30 registrants will receive goodie bags and dash plaques. Following the presentation of car show awards, there will be a cruise and burnouts on two streets, Hibler and Spring Street. Event organizers ask that there be no excessive speed during these events and that distance between cars during the burnout be at least a couple of car lengths. They also request that participants not do burnouts on new asphalt and urge drivers to avoid carelessness. “If you are moving forward and start sliding, you better let off the gas,” they said.
Cars will also be highlighted in several other events. Numerous cans of spray paint have been collected so anyone interested can participate in a car painting. After the vehicle is colorfully painted, it will be used for the car-bash event, in which entrants will be allowed to beat on it with sledgehammers for a small fee. Youngsters participating in the car bash must wear safety glasses and have permission from their parents.
Another vehicle, the money car, will contain several bills adding up to $120. Youngsters 17 and under will be charged $2, and persons 18 and over $3, to climb around through the car for three minutes and hunt for the bills. Once a person finds a bill, he will be allowed to keep it. Entrants must stop at one bill.
The weather is expected to be quite warm, so the dunk tank operated by the Sulphur Springs fire department should be very popular. There will be numerous other activities for the youngsters, including nine inflatables (jump houses and water slides) from Jump Station Inflatables. An all day wristband, allowing a youngster to enter any or all the inflatables, will be available for $12. There will be a singles-only horseshoe tournament; two greased-pig races, one for adults and one for children; duck races; and a cake walk sponsored by the Friendly Neighbors Club. Winners of the greased-pig races will be allowed to keep their pig or the parks department will buy it back from them for $40.
A treasure hunt will be held for all ages. A giant red key will be hidden somewhere in the park, according to event coordinator Scott Weber. The person who finds the prize key should bring it to the car registration table, and he will receive a bag full of goodies. Another opportunity to really “cash in” is provided in the raffle of a ‘79 Ford fox body and street strip race car with more than $10,000 in receipts for work done on the vehicle. Raffle tickets are $25 and the car will be awarded to the winning ticket holder. The winning ticket will be drawn by one of the Arkansas state legislators, Weber said.
There will be several food vendors on hand to satisfy the hunger of those attending. Vendors will be offering a variety of foods, including chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs and barbecue dinners. Those attending may be entertained while they are eating, with the country band, “Smoked Honey,” playing throughout the day and a DJ providing music for a street dance that evening.
Lights on the Sulphur Springs bridge will be lit, to burn permanently, shortly before the annual fireworks show at dusk. The street dance will be held following the fireworks.