Published: June 22, 2009 10:50 pm      

Marlow’s Fourth of July offers holiday fun close to home

MARLOW — If early returns are any indication, Marlow is going to be a hot spot on the Fourth of July, and not just because of the temperature outside.

Mark Melton, president of the Marlow Lions Club, said that the Lions have 56 booths sold for the park, with six of those being food booths.

“In the past we have split up the booths into commercial and food and then arts and crafts. The sorority has taken car of those in the past, but they gave us back all those booths,” Melton said.

The Fourth will start with the annual parade, which is organized by the Marlow Chamber of Commerce, then there will be entertainment ranging from amusement rides, to musicians to the Marlow Gunfighters in the park until 10 p.m. At 10 p.m. the Marlow Fire Department will shoot off fireworks under the guidance of Marlow Fire Department Chief Jerome McCalvin.

Marlow FFA members and wrestling teams will have fundraising booths set up at the park, Melton said.

Adding to the numbers this year are the Marlow schools tri-annual reunion and the Marlow family reunion.

The festivities in the park will be kicked off by a flag raising and the national anthem sung by the Gospel Beams Quartet.

Melton said that there are a number of reasons that the Marlow festivities are so large.

“It is an event that a lot of people don’t want to miss because they enjoy the fireworks,” he said. “We really have one of the best fireworks displays in southwest Oklahoma. They do class reunions around this time of year. They get people coming back for alumni golf tournaments, that’s not put on by us. There are a lot of people that are back in town for those types of things.”

Melton, who has been a Lion since 2004, and he said that this year’s should be one of the better turnouts that there has been.

“Last year I was in charge of getting all of the booths scheduled last year and we had a few empty spots,” he said. “I had people calling up on Thursday before the Fourth last year and I was still able to accommodate them.

“Word of mouth gets out that it is a really good event. People will come scout out their spot in the park so they have a prime spot to watch the fireworks. It is a good family atmosphere. Of course, there are people who walk around with alcohol.”

Melton said that there will be Marlow police, volunteer and reserve officers and the Stephens County Sheriff’s Department will be patrolling the park to keep everyone safe.

As for the parade, Debbie Ridley, chamber director, said that she expects a large number.

“Last year was the largest that any of us could remember, and with the reunions, we expect a large number,” Ridley said.

Those participating in the parade should call Ridley at 580-658-2212 to find out where to line up for their category the day of the parade, Ridley said. Preregistration is not necessary.