ALACHUA ‒ The skies around Alachua were once again bursting with flashes of dazzling lights as the city’s annual Fourth of July celebration returned Sunday evening to a crowd estimated at some 17,000 spectators.

For 20 years the City of Alachua has hosted an annual July 4^th celebration billed as the “Largest Small Town Fireworks Display in America.” The event is so popular that it attracts thousands each year, oftentimes doubling the size of the town’s nearly 10,000 population.

Historically, the event lasts all day, featuring food vendors, children’s activities, games and several bands through the course of the day and evening. The crowd grows throughout the day culminating with the highest numbers for the fireworks show, which rivaled the size and expense of larger metropolitan areas.

But last year, everything changed due to COVID-19. All mass events were canceled or restricted in size and people stayed home to avoid spreading or catching the virus. The City of Alachua canceled the enormously popular event due to concerns for everyone's safety.

This year, the City of Alachua vowed to bring the tradition back. But due to the time it takes to organize the event, with planning starting six months out, and no guarantees about what the situation would be in July, the City opted to stay true to the “Largest Small Town Fireworks Display in America” and focus on the fireworks. Also different this year was the location of the event, as the show was moved from the Hal Brady Recreation Complex where it has been held in previous years to the adjacent Legacy Park and amphitheater.

The day was wet as rain and thunderstorms rolled in throughout the afternoon leaving the Legacy Park field soaked and muddy. But by evening, the skies began to clear, and if there had been any doubts about whether people would show up, those doubts were quickly dispelled by the sheer size of the crowd. After a year of quarantine, social distancing and lack of activities, thousands came out to celebrate the holiday and fireworks. Many brought chairs to avoid the wet ground while others simply stood throughout the show.

The larger than anticipated crowd did cause issues with parking as the ongoing rain left much of the parking area too wet and muddy to use. The reduced parking area at Legacy Park was filled and closed by 7:30 p.m. with traffic backed up on Peggy Road for more than a mile. Police directed people to the Alachua Main Street area, which also quickly filled, leaving many to walk a mile to the park.

The evening’s entertainment consisted of one band, reduced from the multi-band format in the past. Crooked Council performed an energetic set to get the crowd up from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. As they ended their set, the sky exploded in a barrage of multi-colored fireworks and the show began.

For the next half hour, a continuous display of fireworks lit the night sky over Legacy Park as thousands celebrated the Fourth of July. The celebration looked different this year, but one thing is certain, Alachua’s Largest Small Town Fireworks Display was back.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ On a rainy evening on June 24, the Great Outdoors Restaurant literally went to the dogs. The Humane Animal Treatment Charity (HATC) and The High Springs Women’s Club hosted a “Yappy Hour” on the patio of The Great Outdoors Restaurant in High Springs.

A crowd of some 60 people, many with their well-behaved leashed canine companions, attended the fundraiser event despite the rain that had been falling most of the afternoon. The event started at 5 p.m., just about the time the rain stopped, and the crowd slowly filtered in.

The canine friendly event has been popular and well attended in the past. “The rain kept some people from coming, the ones that did were very generous in supporting our efforts to save animals and provide crucially needed funds to support volunteer no-kill rescue facilities,” said Arlene Levine, Vice-President of HATC.

HATC is an all-volunteer non-profit charity. Their mission is to raise funds to aid small all-volunteer humane no-kill animal rescue facilities that save unwanted and abused animals and prepare them for adoption. All net proceeds raised by the charity are given to these rescue groups. No state, federal or local funding is provided as the charity relies solely on the support and financial aid of local organizations and individuals.

While the event's purpose is to raise money from participating humans, much of the focus is on their canine companions. There was a doggy menu, including peanut-based ice cream for the dogs. For the owners, the Great Outdoors had their Thursday special offering of one-half priced bottles of wine. Musical entertainment was offered by the popular duo Gosia and Ali.

Attendees were treated to a silent auction of items spread out over two long tables with various gift packages, including 13 decorated baskets filled with items supplied from local businesses. There were also popular games enjoyed by the crowd such as Ring Toss, Pin the Bone on the Puppy, Trivia Questions and Guess the Number of Biscuits in the Jar. Prizes were awarded for game winners as well as a raffle of prize packages.

Organizations supported by HATC include the Retirement Home for Horses at Mill Creek, K9 Services German Shepherd Rescue, Sunrise Wildlife Rehabilitation, Second Chance Rescue& Rehoming, Helping Hands Pet Rescue and Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary.

While HATC and the Women's Club Sponsored Yappy Hour, the event enjoyed communitywide support. Local businesses and individuals donated baskets and prizes as well as financial aid. Support came from The Great Outdoors, Pink Flamingo, Alachua Animal Hospital, High Springs Playhouse, Bare Essential Massage, Little Cottage Spa, Gene's Gifts, Sam and Becky Tift and other individuals.

“The rain limited the turnout, but the support we got from those that showed was great,” said HATC President Gene Levine. “We made over $4,000 at the event and have a number of donations that are still coming in. It’s great to see the support and know so many care about the welfare of these animals.”

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ALACHUA ‒ On Saturday morning June 26, Alachua joined the ranks of Gainesville and Newberry in holding a remembrance event. Held at Mebane Middle School in a drizzling rain, over 100 people attended the event to memorialize lynching victims, especially the eight known victims in Alachua-Newnansville, as well as Reverend A.S.J Allen who was shot to death in 1904.

The Civil War officially ended slavery, but much of the racial tension and animosity from the war and its after-effects on the South still festered. There was no equality between white southerners and former black slaves and equal treatment under the law did not yet exist. More than 4,400 African Americans were lynched across 20 states between the end of Reconstruction in 1877 and 1950. Florida had 350 lynchings, making it fifth in the nation. Alachua County had 19 documented lynchings making it the second highest in the state.

The "Soil Collection Ceremony for Alachua/Newnansville" was coordinated by the Alachua-Newnansville Subcommittee of the Alachua County Community Remembrance Project, which worked in partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative of Montgomery, Alabama.

The subcommittee was formed under the leadership of Alachua Vice Mayor Shirley Green Brown with the purpose of educating the community about past racial discrimination and memorializing those who suffered repression and violence in the Jim Crow era, while also reconciling to bring the community together.

Brown opened the ceremony with poems and song lyrics. “I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on freedom,” she recited from a civil rights-era song. Alachua First Baptist Reverend Doug Felton gave an Invocation followed by a scripture reading by Reverend Debra Frazier Sermons.

Nii Sowa-La led a spiritual tribute Libation ceremony honoring the traditions of their ancestors, where a drink is poured into the ground to honor the dead. He slowly emptied two bottles onto the grass while leading a rhythmic chant as the audience clapped to a beat. “We are calling for forgiveness,” he repeated.

Several prominent officials spoke including Alachua Mayor Gib Coerper, Alachua County Sheriff Clovis Watson, Jr. and Alachua County Commissioner Charles Chestnut, who said the goal of the event was to bring light to the truth and begin to reconcile the tragic historical events.

“We are here to bring the community together and have a real conversation about the history of lynching here in Alachua County,” he said.

Keiana West of the Equal Justice Initiative spoke about the history of lynchings and long-term consequences in the South. “Slavery did not end in 1865, it simply evolved,” she said. “We can’t get to the reconciliation work without the truth telling work, the history needs to be told.”

Volunteers lit nine candles in recognition of the lynching victims: Cooley Johnson, George Bibbon, Willey Bradley, Caesar Sullivan, Harry Hurl and his 15-year-old son, Harold, William Rawls and murder victim A.S.J. Allen.

While each is identified as a victim, little is known about the circumstances or locations of their lynchings. Rawls was accused of murdering a white merchant in 1895. While Rawls awaited a trial, a white mob stormed the jail, dragging him out and hanging him. No one was ever charged for the lynching.

Rev. A.S.J Allen was a well-respected black minister. On April 2, 1904 he got into an argument with his white neighbor about placement of a fence and the neighbor shot Allen dead. The courts exonerated the neighbor and charges were never filed. However, Allen’s regional and national stature led to numerous black communities going into mourning and 800 people attended his funeral.

Ceremony attendees placed a cup of soil into empty mason jars arranged before the podium. Each jar displayed the name of a victim with two jars for each individual. One jar will be stored at the Equal Justice Initiative Museum in Montgomery, Alabama while the other will stay in Alachua.

Since the exact location of the lynchings is unknown, the soil to fill the jars was collected from three sites in the former town of Newnansville. The Newnansville/Alachua Cemetery was one, the other two were sites in the former township called Black Street Road and Gallows Pond as likely spots.

One by one, a long line of people solemnly put a cup of dirt into each jar until it was filled and sealed. The jars that go to the Equal Justice Initiative Museum will form part of a wall of remembrance made entirely of soil jars from where these victims died or were interred.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ The local Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe sponsored a golf tournament in High Springs this week, but it wasn't a professional golf tournament, it was a miniature golf tournament for charity featuring teams consisting of local families and city employees to raise money for the Kiwanis programs for children.

The Kiwanis of Santa Fe is a local chapter of the Kiwanis International, which is a global community of clubs dedicated to improving the lives of children one community at a time. Founded in 1915, the organization's motto is "Serving the Children of the World."

Today the organization has more than 550,000 members in 80 countries, host nearly 150,000 service projects each year and raises nearly $100 million every year for communities, families and projects. Since each community has different needs, the Kiwanis empowers members to pursue creative ways to serve the needs of children, such as fighting hunger, improving literacy and offering guidance.

David Miller, general manager of the Pink Flamingo Diner, is also a lifelong Kiwanis member. “Several months ago, the club approached me about hosting a golf tournament on the Diner's miniature golf course,” Miller said. “We had heard about professional tournaments on miniature courses and decided that this would be a good opportunity to both benefit the Kiwanis cause and use the course for charity and plan for future tournaments.”

Local businesses were enthusiastic about sponsoring the competition and providing prizes for the winners. Campus USA, Waste Pro, High Springs City Parks and Recreation, Porta Serve, Attorney Thomas Weller and Edward Jones company supplied monetary funds or prizes. The Pink Flamingo lowered their usual charge to play from $8 to $6 for adults and $4 for children. Of that fee, $2 of each entry was donated to the Kiwanis to support their projects. The Kiwanis also increased participation with a potluck prize.

The first round was a family round with parents and children up to age 12 on four-person teams. The top three teams won prize baskets ranging from $45 to $120. Family team winners were first place Maggie Hewlett, second place the Santos family playing under the family plumbing business name of Plumb Ultimate, and third place went to the MacNeil family.

In addition to the prize baskets, any child that made Par 3 (three shots per hole) and any adult that made Bogey (two shots per hole) received a free ice cream cone courtesy of the Pink Flamingo.

Family play was followed by eight adult teams of four players each. Winners for the adult round were High Springs Park and Recreation Department in first place, followed by the Nate team in second place and Susan Ladd's team taking third place. While the event was meant to be a fun time for all involved, it also raised $1,400 for the Kiwanis projects.

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