Gravette July 4th activities planned

GRAVETTE - Dedication of the new skateboard park will be one of the highlights during Fourth of July activities in Gravette, according to Mayor Byron Warren.

The skateboard facility was recently completed at the northeast corner of Pop Allum Park. The dedication ceremony will precede the Fourth of July fireworks display Thursday evening.

Mike von Ree, who has chaired the annual fireworks project for many years, said the program this year “will be the biggest and best ever.” Members of the Gravette volunteer fire department will be in charge of the program, which will begin “at dark.”

Warren said activities in the park will begin at 6 p.m. and include the dedication ceremony. He was seeking to hire a band to perform before the ceremony and fireworks. Free hot dogs will also be served, the mayor said. He said a local church group is considering having a lemonade booth in the park and other vendors may set up, but nothing definite has been finalized, he added.

“The skate park is not lighted,” Warren said of the project which was recently completed. A privacy fence is to be erected along the east side of the concrete skateboard pad to help shield the neighboring residential area.

Lots of parking is available at the park, but persons attending are encouraged to come early because of the large crowd which attends the annual program.

Coming Events Another evening of free entertainment is being planned for July 13 at Kindley Memorial Park, Mayor Warren announced. A band will be setting up in the historic bandstand at 6 p.m. and will perform during the evening.

“And free watermelon will be served,” the mayor said. “This should be an evening of good entertainment the entire family can enjoy.” This Saturday, July 6, Dwayne Harrington and his cycle group, “National Ghostriders Association,” will be holding a ride and a “swap meet” in Old Town Park, where they will camp out Saturday night. Harrington, of Gravette, was a staff sergeant serving with the Arkansas National Guard in Operation Desert Storm in 1990-91 when U.S. troops freed Kuwait from an invasion by Iraq.

Gravette Mayor Byron Warren said Harrington explained all funds raised at the event are used to assist veterans’ families and others, particularly during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season.