Celebration returns to St. Marys

The festival will feature everything from 5k and 10K runs at 7 a.m. to musical performances by bluegrass artists Billy's Group, Bro Steve and Bro Charlie, Dog Gone Blues Band, before finishing off with the fireworks at dusk and a concert by the old time rock and roll country band Tuff-A-Nuff.

In between the concerts will be a parade at 10 a.m. and more than 75 booths selling arts and crafts and various food items from hot dogs to meat-on-a-stick. According to Cindy Hagemann, Kiwanis Club publicity chairman for the festival, there will be something for all ages.

''This festival is a great opportunity for the community to come together and for people to meet their neighbors,'' she said. ''There are a lot of people who live in the area who have never been downtown. This is an event that allows them to see things they have not seen before and a chance to have a good time with activities geared toward a family atmosphere.''

The festival is not just to celebrate Independence Day, but this year is also a dedication and welcome to the newest submarine at Kings Bay, USS Florida (SSGN 728). Crew members and officers will be given the key to the city during the parade and the command is the honorary grand marshal for the festival. According to Florida's commanding officer Cmdr. Gregory Ott, this is a great opportunity for the crew and families to celebrate America's freedom with their new neighbors.

''The community has really welcomed us and shown a tremendous amount of support for the crew and families in the short time we have been here,'' he said. ''This is the first major holiday for us in Kings Bay, and is a great way of showing our pride for the Navy and the ship and also to say thanks for all your support.''

There are a couple of new events this year and an old event that will be brought back to life. The new events will be an ice cream eating contest and a watermelon seed-spitting event. One of the most popular competitions that has been absent for a while is the lawn tractor racing, which has been divided into three categories: zero turn races, up to 12 horsepower and 12 to 20 horsepower. It is not NASCAR but is a way to ''soup up'' tractor engines for a race down the main drag.

The festival will also have demonstrations from Lisa Allen's Dance Studio and Pak's Karate Demonstration and officials are hoping for a crown larger than the 20,000 who attended last year.

''This will be the largest fireworks display we have had in the last 10 years,'' Lanham said. ''The activities are planned for the whole family. We hope everyone comes out, spends some money and avoids the traffic of Jacksonville. We may not be the biggest festival, but we are the best.''

JO2(SW) Michael Wiss can be reached at 573-4714 or at michael.wiss @navy.mil.