Graham hosting Independence Day events Monday

The city of Graham will be celebrating Independence Day with a full showing of events Monday. The Kiwanis Pancake breakfast, Independence Day honors, Independence Day parade, Chalk the Walk and Fourth at the Fields fireworks display will make for a day of activities in Graham.

Events will be held from local veterans nonprofit groups, the Graham Chamber of Commerce and Graham Kiwanis Club through the help of local volunteers. Graham Chamber of Commerce Manager Lisa Shook said the first Monday in July will be packed with events for the community.

“On Monday, July 4, we will have a full day of events,” Graham Chamber of Commerce Manager Lisa Shook said. “The Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast kicks off at seven o’clock. It’s $10 a person and they are in the First Baptist Church this year. And then we also have our Independence Day Honors ceremony, which starts at 9 (a.m.) at the gazebo. The parade is at 10:30 (a.m.) And throughout all of that Chalk the Walk will be going on around the courthouse square. So the winners of Chalk the Walk will be announced between 10:30 (a.m.) and 11 (a.m.) Then that evening is Fourth of the Fields, which is at the little league soccer fields. Gates open at 6 (p.m.), free entry, and the fireworks start at dark.”

Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast

The annual Kiwanis Club Pancake Breakfast, which serves as a fundraiser for the organization, will be held from 7-11 a.m. at the Graham First Baptist Church Family Life Center. Tickets for the breakfast will be $10 per person, with children under 2 having free admission. Tickets can be purchased at the event, through a Kiwanis Club member, or by contacting Kim Birdwell at 940-300-2239.

Chalk the Walk

The Graham Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the annual Chalk the Walk competition in conjunction with the Independence Day festivities. The event allows artists to show off their chalk art talents and potentially win cash prizes.

“Chalk the Walk is an event that we created to go in conjunction with the honors ceremony. We have artists from all over Wichita Falls, (the) Metroplex, that come in and they draw chalk art on the sidewalk and around the courthouse. They have a (5-foot by 4-foot) square that they have to stay within. They draw something that is to the theme, and this year’s theme is Let Freedom Ring,” Shook said. “We have a professional class and an amateur class. The professional class gets $1,000, $500, $250 for first, second and third. And then the amateur class gets $50 in chamber bucks for first and second. So we have people from all over (...) do the amateur class.”

Artwork in the Chalk the Walk contest must be completed by 10:30 a.m. and artists are required to bring their own supplies to work on their art. To sign up for the event, contact the Graham Chamber of Commerce 940-549-3355, or visit grahamtexas.net and fill out an application.

Independence Day Honors Ceremony

Independence Day honors will be held at the Young County Courthouse gazebo starting at 9 a.m. with a welcome by Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Knox Bishop. Following will be a wreath laying and flag folding ceremony at the Young County Veterans Memorial. Service star flags will be available and presented by the American Volunteer Reserve to families in Young County who have a member currently serving in the military.

“The sacrifices made to create us a free Republic, and to preserve us as a free Republic, have been very high - and particularly so for such a small County as ours,” Bishop wrote in an email to The Graham Leader. “In a nation in which less than 1% of our people are currently bearing those sacrifices, it is sobering to recall that there are over 5,000 names on our Young County Veterans Memorial with more being added yearly. Young County has given a great deal to keep us free, and we owe it to those who have borne the burdens (and their families) to properly honor and remember them, especially on the day in which we celebrate our nation’s birth - July 4th.”

The AVR annually honors veterans during the missing man bell roll call who have died since the last July 4 ceremony. Certificates of honor and gratitude are also presented to Young County honorees just before the parade begins. The honorees this year will be Wanda Knox, John Harrington and David Lipsey.

Independence Day Parade

The Independence Day Parade begins at 10:30 a.m. around the downtown square. The local nonprofit veterans service organizations AVR, Young County Warrior Ranch and the American Legion Post 34, with the support of the Graham Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau, will be hosting the parade.

Parade entries will be judged from 10-10:30 a.m. July 4 on the interpretation of theme, creativity and patriotism. Entries are required to have their number posted on the right side of the entry for judging and for announcement. Awards will be announced following the parade.

The parade route will be around the Graham downtown square. The route will start on Oak Street and head south, then east on Fourth Street, south on Elm Street, west on Second Street and finally north on Oak Street to Fourth Street.

Fourth at the Fields

The day will end with the annual Fourth at the Fields fireworks show at the Graham Soccer Fields. Gates for the event will open at 6 p.m. with free admission. The fireworks show will begin at the fields starting at dark.