July 3: celebrating the July 4th way

July 4th is almost here, and Colorado City always celebrates Independence Day in style! In fact, citizens and visitors to Colorado City will start celebrating Saturday, July 3.

Saturday kicks off early as the 59th Annual J.O. Dockrey Fly-in begins at 7 a.m. at the Colorado City Airport. Eggs, bacon, toast and fresh cantaloupe will be served for free to pilots flying in for the event. Everyone else is welcome to eat breakfast for $5 per plate.

Breakfast eaters usually consume approximately 120 dozen eggs, 130 pounds of bacon, 17 gallons of orange juice, and 40 loaves of Texas toast. There are usually about 40 various types of aircraft for spectators to get a closer look on the runway of the airport.

Thanks to generosity of the Kiwanis Club, all first responders will eat breakfast free of charge.

An awards program, led by Nancy Masters, will begin around 9 a.m. Awards, sponsored by Lowe’s Market, will be awarded for the Furthest Distance Traveled, Most Unique Plane, Oldest Plane, Youngest Pilot and Oldest Pilot.

The fun doesn’t end there, it just moves to Ruddick Park. The City Pool will be open and swimming will be free from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on July 3.

The Colorado City Volunteer Fire Department will be out in full force at the park on Saturday, selling food, providing games and bringing a car to be smashed.

Brisket, ribs, potato salad, beans will be served for $10 a plate. Sound like too much food? Try one of the department’s delicious fruit cups.

Bring the kids out to play in the bounce houses or any one of the other games the department will be providing. If you need to get rid of a little stress, the department will have a car at the park to smash around on.

Then as the sun sets and darkness approaches, the preparation booms will be heard throughout town, as pyro technicians get ready to light up the night sky with a fireworks display. The awesome display will round out a great day of July 4th activities. Expect a great show, with all the donations from citizens and businesses around town, the Chamber’s goal of $5000 was met.