Fourth of July events scheduled in Carl Miller Park

Wednesday, July 3, 2013
The Little Miss El-Whyee Pageant will start at 1 p.m. in Carl Miller Park.

The El-Whyee Business Association's annual Fourth of July Festival in the Park will begin at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 4.

Scheduled to run until 4 p.m. at Carl Miller Park, the festival is expected to fill the area with activities, according to organizers.

The Independence Day activities begin as the Mountain Home Fire Department raises the American flag above the park.

Organizers will then start their annual "Wash and Shine Car Show," after the flag raising. The show will include several vehicle classes, including vintage street rods, motorcycles and foreign cars.

People may register their vehicles for the show in advance by calling Bill Bamber at 599-0008 or Michael Stoecker at 587-5372. Competitors may also sign up at the park Thursday morning.

At 11 a.m., the band Third Take will perform on stage at the park with music expected to continue through 4 p.m.

One of the highlights of the day is the Little Miss El-Whyee Pageant, which will start at 1 p.m. It's a pageant in which participants all walk away as winners, according to Jessica Smith, who organizes the event. Contestants, typically pre-school youngsters, receive a tiara along with a flower and candy as part of the prizes they receive.

Parents may register their children for the pageant during the morning with the show scheduled to follow at 1 p.m. For details, call Smith at 468-6175.

Throughout the day, members of the local four-wheel drive club will display their off-road vehicles in the parking area next to East Elementary School.

The festival will include food and beverages, vendors, games and dunk tanks. In addition, Mark Anthony's Purveyors of Fine Cigars will open a beer garden in the park.

Festival goers may enter a raffle featuring an assortment of prizes, including a storage shed. Available at the park during the day, tickets are $1 each or $5 for six.

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