Dakota Cedar and her horse, R.J., show off their patriotic colors during the July 4 parade in Starke, which preceded the three-day Starke Spangled Splash Bash at the Bradford Agricultural Fairgrounds.You can’t have a Starke Spangled Splash Bash without a splash, which Makye Williams prepares to enjoy at the bottom of this slide. The event, which moved from the Bradford High School football field to the Bradford Agricultural Fairgrounds, consisted of a variety of activities and entertainment.Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith leads the parade down Church Street.Coby Coffey displays the U.S. flag while riding in a vehicle driven by his grandfather, Sheriff Gordon Smith.Bradford High School JROTC cadets Lysa McKenzie (second from left) and Melissa Harding (second from right) display the colors. They are flanked by Taylor Touchton (far left) and Ezra Green.Bradford High School JROTC cadets, including (l-r) Noah Stoehr, Sabrina Mikkelson, Monique Burr and Sean Moya, took part in the parade.Samantha Espinoza (left) and Bentley Espinoza wave as the parade participants march by.Norman Dowdy, the commander of Starke’s Jones-Langford-White American Legion Post 56, serves as the parade’s grand marshal aboard a Starke fire truck.Jones-Langford-White American Legion Post 56 members Dale Tenly (left) and Artis Rix get a ride in the parade, courtesy of Miracle Automotive and Towing.Bradford High School majorettes Allyson McCoy (left) and Miranda Lindsey march in the parade.Drum Major Gemma Rodriguez leads the Bradford High School band. Tuba player Darren Lewis is pictured in the background.Tyeley Durbin-Taylor (left) and Jaxon Rich wave as the parade marches past.Some of the youth attending the I Am STEM camp in Starke, including Jaden Hendrieth (right) and Camryn Flintroyal, participated in the parade.Judith Young waves from her Jeep Wrangler.Who ya gonna call to keep you free from ghosts on July 4?Carrie and Jeff Johnson show off their red-white-and-blue attire, including Punkin’s ultra-patriotic shirt, glasses and hat.Chelsey Dreer (foreground, right) and Tracy O’Neal ride up front, while Conner Tyliczka keeps doggie Reba company in the back.Riding with the Bradford County Sheriff’s Posse are (l-r) Kiarra Boyd, Ashlyn Boyd and Zoee Boyd.Lexi Melton’s face shows just how much fun she’s having watching the parade.Alliyah Simmons enjoys one of the water slides, which were provided by Space Walk of Gainesville.Garrett Force experiences a fun way to cool off during one of three days of activities at Starke Spangled Splash Bash.Children’s watermelon-eating contest winner Elaina Sparks (left) stands up with arms raised in victory. Daniel Troutman (right) works on eating his way to second place among the older youth/adult participants.Dannielle Voss was the top adult in the watermelon-eating contest. Participants had to consume two melons.Clark Mills plunges into his second piece, with six more to follow. He placed second in the youth category.Elaina Sparks works her way through two watermelons. She won the children’s category and was also the first finisher overall.Dannielle Voss gives a thumbs-up to family members, who were making sure she was doing OK. Voss is 7-months’ pregnant.Daniel Troutman at the start of his second-place finish in the watermelon-eating contest.Clark Mills had the right idea — if you’re going to compete in something messy like a watermelon-eating contest, do so without a shirt.We have a winner — a messy winner. Roger Crews didn’t take a pie to the face. Rather, he put his face into the pie, finishing in first place out of the adults competing to see who could eat an apple pie the quickest without using hands.Brothers Bryce Johnson (left) and Wyatt Johnson placed first and second, respectively, among children in the apple-pie eating contest.Michael Lizell peels the foil away from his apple pie as he eats his way to second place in the adult division.Roger Crews discovers if you’re in a pie-eating contest, the pie gets everywhere.Bryce Johnson seems to be thinking, “I can’t believe I’m eating a whole pie!”Wyatt Johnson sees he’s still got a lot of pie left.The Starke Spangled Splash Bash conisted of multiple musical acts, including LeeAnn Purvis, who’s performed at all three of the annual July 4 events.A fireworks show on July 4 was provided courtesy of the city of Starke and Ceremonial Fireworks.
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