Downtown event has parade, patriotism and bed races, too

Children of all ages could be seen stuffing their faces with watermelon, eating oatmeal cream pies, and spitting watermelon seeds while they learned about patriotism at the Old-fashioned Independence Day Celebration in downtown Conway on Friday.

The festivities, centered on children, featured carnival games, a parade, live music and various food-eating contests.

The parade included motorcycles and a marching band. Parents and children alike were encouraged to participate in the parade by walking and riding bicycles and wagons. Many children were pulled by their parents in wagons decorated like parade floats.

Wagons were dressed in patriotic red, white and blue with some stars added. The parade began in the Log Cabin Democrat parking lot and continued to the post office. The children especially reacted to the 20 or so motorcycles that revved their engines as they rode by the crowd.

The Conway Fire Department sponsored its "Crawl, Drag and Squirt" obstacle course. Children were invited to spray obstacles with a fire hose, run around cones, and save a life-like dummy with the assistance of a firefighter.

Besides watching children do funny things, parents were treated to live music and patriotic ceremonies at the band shell in Simon Park. The Toad Suck Symphony sang harmonized versions of classic patriotic tunes and the adults, many of them veterans, took time to reflect with reverence on what it means to be an American.

Conway, like many neighboring towns, chose to have its Independence Day festivities this weekend because July 4 is during the middle of the week on Wednesday.

The veterans were not shy at all about teaching the younger generations about respect and patriotism. During the national anthem, one veteran was seen educating a younger, talkative man that he should be quiet and take off his hat.

Nick Bacon, a Medal of Honor recipient for his service in Vietnam in 1968, treated the young and old to a speech on patriotism.

Perhaps the most highly anticipated event was the bed races. This year, the victors were the First State Bank team. The bed was a cardboard counterpart to the bank's trademark, a red Volkswagen Beetle. The team's "Hug a Bed Bug," won the title of fastest bed, narrowly defeating the Independent Living Services best-decorated bed for the championship.

The Conway Police Department's bed, which appeared to be yanked from a jail cell and had police lights installed, dropped out of competition when it suffered a major blowout during the first race.

First State Bank pit crew leader, Bob Leffert, showed signs of anxiety before the beginning of the first race against the Conway Police Department.

"I really hope we lose, because if we win they'll be out for us and the retaliation will be horrible -- speeding tickets, unlawful search and seizures," said Leffert.

How does it feel to win such a prestigious award?

"It feels great," said Hug a Bed Bug passenger Holly Pratt.

The event, which wrapped up around 8:30 p.m., was sponsored by the Railroad Market District Committee of the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce.

Committee Chairwoman Sherry Smith felt confident that the group had met its goal.

"We wanted to have an opportunity to get the community together as a family, and remind them why we're still free," Smith said.

Smith also said she gets satisfaction out of planning an event such as this and the goal for this year was to make the event fun for adults and children alike. The group tried to make it appealing for children, hoping the kids would bring their parents along.

"It was a great event, and I really want to applaud the committee that put together the event. It's a good thing to see the kids having such a great time along with the representatives from the wars being out here and educating us on what sacrifices were made for us to be able to have the freedom and the pride that we should carry being Americans," said spectator Ken Ashley-Pauley.

This was the third year for the celebration. The committee has been working on this year's event since February.

Smith also stressed the importance of the veterans and the American Legion. This year, the veterans decorated the band shell and provided the color guard for the parade.

"We had a great time, we love doing it, and it's free," Smith said.