BY TRACY LEE TATE
Times Staff Writer
One word can describe the Lake Butler Rotary Club’s Independence Day event at Lakeside Park – HOT!
The day began with a 5K race, with the top three finishers being Zoey Marshall (27.50), Emma Jeffers and CeCe Thomas. The fishing tournament also started early, with Tyler Griffis taking first place with a 4.95 lb. fish, winning the $1,000 top prize, Buddy Perry placed second with a 2.41 lb. catch and Trey Owen and Bryson Osteen tying for third with both landing 2.40 lb. catches.
Attendance was light at noon, with only about 150-200 people braving the ambient temperature of around 110 F., but things picked up in the early evening, with an estimated 600-650 people coming out for the 29 vendors and 6 food trucks on hand.
There was fun for all ages, with three bounce houses and a petting zoo for the youngest and a silent auction and Kiss-the-Pig Contest for older celebrants. The Kiss-The-Pig contest was a fundraiser for the Lake Butler Order of the Eastern Star and raised $570. Union County Superintendent of School Mike Ripplinger showed his community spirit by kissing Barbie Que the pig, provided by Crawford Farms.
When the evening arrived, and things cooled down there was live music at the loop and at dusk the fireworks began. The show lasted about 30 minutes and all watchers seemed pleased. While the majority were on hand to watch at the lake, cars were parked all over downtown Lake Butler with occupants watching the display while running their air conditioners.
Union County Sheriff’s Office reports that there were no incidents of any kind to mar the family holiday celebration and that there were also no EMS or fire calls. The only issue all day was a minor fender-bender in town near the end of the fireworks.
