Valley City July 4th Celebration Draws Big Crowd
Valley City always has a big community event on July 4th, and this year was no different. City officials estimated there to be 700- 800 people in attendance. Everyone was very festive, and people were decked out in red, white, and blue. It was Americana at its finest. There are always multiple events scheduled, and the fireworks show is always the highlight of the event. But, this year city officials planned a drone show instead of a fireworks show.
The festivities this year included a catfish filet eating contest, sweet tea chugging contest, and some vendor booths. There also was a cousin reveal station. There were representatives there from a company similar to 23andMe that had the capability to rapid genetic testing. They encouraged people to give saliva samples, and they did the cousin reveal at 7:00. Multiple people found out they were indeed cousins. The Huckabees, a married couple, found out they were actually 2nd cousins. They are from Alabama, so that’s all you need to know. One lady, who will remain anonymous, discovered that her dad was not actually her biological father. Her biological father was in attendance, and his name will remain anonymous as well. He was not informed about this revelation. She left the event very upset, and her mother has some explaining to do.
The catfish fillet eating contest was a hit. There were 8 contestants, and they had 10 minutes to eat as many filet as possible. All contestants had to sign a waiver saying they wouldn’t sue if they swallowed a bone. The catfish fillets were provided by Ricky’s on the River. Johnny Blue was the winner by one fillet; he at 39 fillets.
The sweet tea chugging contest was a hit as well. 7 contestants had one minute to chug as many 12 ounce cups of sweet tea as possible. Milo “Red” Diamond won the contest by chugging 11 cups of tea. It wasn’t really close; the next closest competitor only drank 8 cups.
The Dirtdobbers were performing live music at the event. At 7:30, everything was halted and everyone sat in their lawn chairs and listened to the Dirtdobbers. They performed multiple patriotic songs including “America the Beautiful” and “God Bless the USA.” It was a moving moment as attendees waved American flags during “America the Beautiful.” After the patriotic songs, the highlight of the event began- the drone show.
The smart kids from Valley Prep’s tech department did the drone show. It was amazing! The coordination of all the red, white, and blue drones was impressive. They formed multiples shapes and formations including an American flag which drew a big applause. The drone show was almost finished, and a couple drones were knocked out of the sky. Evidently, an owl did not like the red drones, and he/she attacked a couple and they fell to the ground, and one of the drones almost landed on an elderly lady.
The year’s Valley City July 4th Celebration was a great event. The cousin reveal and drone show were very interesting. I’m not sure the cousin reveal people will be invited back next year, but we’ll see. The SRVO will be there next year reporting on this great annual event.