Pikeville to hold Summer Blast on Saturday
By Gary Popp
Published in News on September 7, 2011 1:46 PM
PIKEVILLE -- Pikeville is gearing up for its third annual Summer Blast in the Park, which is being held from 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the Park of Pikeville.
Nearly 15 vendors will be on hand offering arts and crafts from around the state and delectable goodies, including sweet potato fries, pickles, hot dogs, barbecue sandwiches, ice cream and more.
The festival will include a car, truck and tractor cruise, which is open to all area residents and requires no registration.
Vehicles of any sort or condition can be entered into the cruise, and town officials are asking those interested in participating to arrive at the park before 4 p.m.
Comedian and entertainer Johnny Lee Cook will emcee the festivities, which will include performances by Jimmy Fortune, formerly of the Statler Brothers, and the gospel trio 8th Day.
Raffle tickets will be sold to any festival-goer who want to take his chance at a grand cash prize and a number of other prizes, which will not be identified before the day of the event.
The festival's kid friendly activities will include giant inflatables and horseback riding.
Members of the Army Reserve will also be on hand with a NASCAR race simulator and football toss.
A fireworks show will be presented near the end of the event.
As the festival falls the day before the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, officials with the Town of Pikeville have scheduled to take time out of the fun to recognize those who lost their lives that fateful day and in the wars that have followed.
"We will have a ceremony to remember the victims of 9/11 and the fire, police and rescue personnel, and pay tribute to members of the military who paid the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan," town Commissioner Dennis Lewis said. "We will lay a wreath in their honor."
Lewis has also organized an empty chair ceremony.
The ceremony will consist of a table with six place settings, Lewis said, one for each branch of the military, and one that is left empty to represent those who were killed in battle.