ThisWeek CW 07/11/2013
Groveport’s Fourth of July celebration went off without a hitch, despite overcast skies and some afternoon rain.
Event organizer Bob Garvin said the various events throughout the day were packed, even with the threat of showers, and volunteers are already looking forward to next year’s celebration to further improve upon changes made this year.
The July 4 parade was moved up this year to an 11 a.m. start time instead of being held in midafternoon. The change was made because of extreme afternoon heat over the past few years — something that wasn’t an issue this year.
“We had plans already put in place so we’d be ready for whatever had come down, but fortunately, we didn’t have to use any of them,” Garvin said. “The rain before the parade certainly didn’t keep anyone away, as the streets were absolutely packed, the park was full even when it was raining and then we had a great turnout for the fireworks, like always.”
Throughout the day July 4, many areas in central Ohio had a steady drizzle of rain but according to Garvin, the storms seemed to avoid Groveport.
“We were keeping track of the weather in case we needed to cancel some events and reschedule the fireworks, but it seemed to just split and go around us,” he said. “The whole day just felt like a great big family party with great music and the kids had a lot of fun in the bounce houses and other activities.”
Garvin said his favorite part of the day, as always, was the parade.
“There were some characters like Mickey Mouse, Goofy and the Cookie Monster that the kids just loved and then we had Terri Christensen (Southeastern Franklin County Chamber of Commerce executive director) singing God Bless America to the audience as the parade approached downtown — now that was really well-received,” Garvin said.
The organizing group will begin planning for next year’s event in two weeks, and is looking for feedback on what people would like to see next year, particularly throughout the day between the parade and the fireworks, he said.
“We’ll evaluate what people seemed to enjoy and see when there were down times and figure out what else we can do that will fill that and interest folks,” Garvin said.