Celebrating 4th of July in Bath County

In late Summer and early Fall of 2017, the Bath County Celebrations committee began meeting, and on a very, very cold day in November held their first Veterans’ Day ceremony in front of the courthouse. They welcomed and honored Bath residents who had served in all branches of the military over the years.

Crissy Smith, one member of the Celebrations Committee told AMR more.

“It actually started with Veterans’ Day; we never celebrated Veterans’ Day here in the County, so Martha Glenn was actually the person that headed that up, and started everything.   She got the ball rolling. She deserves the credit for that. And I’m glad she did, because we needed to observe our veterans in the county.   It went on to Memorial Day, It wasn’t as big as the Veterans’ Day celebration, but we did have flags placed on veterans’ graves throughout the county.”

“And now what can we expect for Fourth of July?”

“Everything’s free for one, so that should bring in a lot of people. We’ll have a lot of kids’ activities. We’ll have a duck pond, a dunking booth, which Sheriff Plecker has volunteered to be in, and we also have a watermelon-eating contest. We have cornhole boards and bouncy houses. And of course we’ll have live entertainment the whole four hours, local talent. I wanted to make sure we brought out the local talent because I don’t think people realize how much local talent there really is in Bath County. ‘Crossing County Lines’, that’s kind of our headliner for the night. They’re a young group of kids, and they’re very talented, and I hope everyone enjoys them.”

There’s no admission fee, and while adults aren’t encouraged in the bouncy house, for the most part, the activities friendly for all ages.”

“I guess the water melon eating contest is for twelve and below. We have face painting,

so maybe step out and find an original, festive design for your cheek or upper arm?

Chrissy continued “It’s just going to be an evening packed with a lot of fun. It’s just for everyone to come down enjoy yourself, enjoy music, talk to your neighbors.

For anyone passing through the Highlands, who’s unfamiliar with downtown Hot Springs, you’ll find a warm welcome too.

“It’s at the end of Main Street across from the Hot Springs Fire house, it’s not hard to find. There’s plenty of parking too. It is free, and we’re going to have raffles we’re giving away throughout the night, and kids prizes for the watermelon eating contest, and just all kinds of things.”

Again, this celebration of our nation’s birth takes place from 5:00 until 9:00 pm on Wednesday at the Old Stables lot in Hot Springs.