The Ripley Lions Club would like to invite everyone to this year’s Fourth of July Festival celebration to be held at the Ripley Lions Club Park from June 28 until the conclusion of the fireworks show that starts at 10 p.m. on Saturday evening, June 29.
The festival will provide contests for children and adults, a baby show, a bouncy house, vendor booths, musical entertainment, good food, and several raffles with many great prizes.
The festival will open at 7 a.m., Friday, June 28 with the first event being a fishing tournament for children under 15 years of age competing for the largest fish caught. Vendor booths will open on Friday morning at 10 a.m., followed by “frog-jumping” and “turtle racing” contests for the children at 11 a.m., and a decorated bike contest for the bikes best decorated in the theme of the Fourth of July celebration starting at 1 p.m. A youth cornhole competition for youngsters 18 and under will begin at 2:30 p.m and the afternoon events conclude with a youth Hula Hoop competition which will be held from 4-5 p.m. and the famous chili cook-off competition at 6 p.m. with registration starting at 5 p.m. Prizes will be awarded for each competition and all members of the public are invited to join in the contests. The first day will conclude with music provided by “Country Thunder,” a country-rock band, who will play from 7-11 p.m. All of these events will take place at Lion’s Park.
On Saturday, June 29, a second fishing tournament for children under 15 years of age will be held beginning at 7 a.m. fishing for the most fish caught. This will be followed by a baby show contest starting with registration at 10 a.m., a best pie and cake competition with an auction to follow at 12:30 p.m., and a pet show with registration beginning at 2 p.m. and judging at 3 p.m. Again, all contest winners will be awarded prizes. Steve Free will provide folk music between 4 and 5 p.m., this will be followed by the duck race at 6 p.m., followed by evening music provided by the band, “Backup & Push,” a bluegrass band. The festival concludes with the shooting of the fireworks at around 10 p.m., and the announcement of the raffle big prize winners immediately following the fireworks. The fireworks will be shot from the Kentucky side of the Ohio River this year thanks to the graciousness of Rick Pumpelly.
All contest participants can registrar for their events and all prize winners can claim their prizes at the Lions Club Festival headquarters located at the Lions Park. Those participants who wish to pre-register or want further information on any event can contact Ripley Lions Club representatives Danny Price at 703-597-2529 or Kristel Titus-Salisbury at 937-213-1554.
