Murphy from Correspondent Anngee Quinones-Belian – Konehete Veterans Park was the place to be on July 1, and there was no shortage of people who came to the all-day festivities.
The Cherokee County Hometown Celebration offered fun for everyone, like a fishing derby, horseshoe tournament, sack races, egg toss, balloon toss and the lively peanut drop. The Cherokee County Recreation Department put on the celebration, while the Town of Murphy provided the evening's fireworks display.
The Mountain Country Rod & Gun Club sponsored the annual Fishing Derby. There were about 29 participants with prizes given for the Largest Fish, Smallest Fish and the Most Fish Caught.
A tie for the smallest fish was with Lincoln Hoyle and Mason Lovingood. Most caught went to Bryson Marquette, while the largest caught was Jaxson Barbra.
The horseshoe tournament net some winners as well in the singles and doubles event.
The first-place winner in singles went to William Phillips, second place was awarded to Dustin Phillips and third place went to Tommy Moss. In the doubles tournament, first place went to Tommy and Neal Moss, second-place winners were William and Dustin Phillips, and third place went to Adam Leatherwood and Mike Hall.
The field was lined with people waiting for thousands of peanuts to be dropped from an aircraft above. Among the regular peanuts were some red, white and blue ones that when found, earned the "grabber" a cash prize.
One moment people were standing around chatting and in the next moment everyone was rushing the field to grab up as many of the protein filled shells they could hoping to scarf up a monetary prize winner.
Logan Chase, 8, lives near Atlanta. When asked about his race to find peanuts and possibly a winner, he said, "How I feel about picking up peanuts is that I'm happy. I just want as many as I can get because I just want the snack." It was apparent that he wasn't interested in finding a prize winner; he just wanted to eat.
When all was done, nothing remained on the ground except for a few crushed peanuts among some goose poo, feathers and puddles where previous rains had fallen. When asked why peanuts were chosen as the dropped treat instead of candy, recreation director Phillip “Peewee” Davis said, "Peanuts just float down, and they don't hurt when they hit you."
In the balloon toss contest, the ones whose balloons broke upon catching them may have lost the competition, but they may have been the real winners with refreshingly wet and cool clothing in the heat of the day.
In the evening, people were treated to a beautiful display of sparkling colors in the sky. The fireworks were captivating as folks watched with anticipation for the next burst of noise attached to a multi-array of color and excitement.
Andrews from correspondent Nicole Wright – Overcast skies provided shade for the annual Fourth of July Festival at Andrews Recreation Park.
Crowds came for the opening ceremonies and plenty of games including horseshoes, corn hole, egg toss and plenty of poolside action, with prizes for splashes big and small.
Western North Carolina Youth Shooting Sports was also in attendance, offering information about supporting area youth through teaching archery and fundraising for area high school and 4-H clubs. Club Chair Joe Beasley said their organization has had two state champions in various divisions in recent years.
Brandon West, who coaches Andrews’ middle and high school teams, said the club’s schedule is primarily from December through April with various events and tournaments held around the region.
Though the skies were cloudy the heat was ramping up and Lil Snowie offered cool treats.
Martin Mancuso and Sandra Rollins were enjoying a sweet treat as their breakfast in order to cool off in the late morning.
Mancuso served 22 years in the U.S. Air Force. He was proudly displaying his hat and enjoying the local displays of American pride for the holiday.
Among those displays was the singing of the national anthem by Kimsey Creasman, which felt like a Whitney Houston moment since Creasman only found out 10 minutes prior to the opening ceremony that she would be singing.
“We found a YouTube video and did pretty good for not a lot of prep,” said Kimsey’s mother, Ashley Creasman.
Along with the festivities and patriotism, there was a great chance to bounce around with AeroJump provided slides and bounce houses for kids of all ages.
The main event at noon was the P’nut Drop in the outfield. Kids and adults alike flocked to await the plane’s dropping of thousands of peanuts. Various peanuts colored red, white and blue were worth prizes.
Everyone grabbed their grocery sacks and “pokes” to gather up the snacks. As of 2 p.m., there was still no winner of the white peanut, leaving $50 for the taking next year.
Late afternoon saw live music begin after all the games were completed. Trae Carlton provided the 4 p.m. entertainment with a blend of country music and original tunes.
The full day of celebrating America’s freedom and independence ended with a spectacular light show of fireworks enjoyed by the crowds lining up in parking lots, private homes and various hilltop spots for the best vantage points in town.