LITTLE MOUNTAIN — With August on the horizon, many in Little Mountain are gearing up for the annual Little Mountain Reunion, which will be held next Friday and Saturday.
This year’s Reunion will be filled with food, music, carnival rides, crafts, a parade and other goodies for all ages.
“People come from all over because it is a reunion. People come from out of state, I have seen people I have not seen in years at the Reunion,” said Chris Graham, chairman of the Little Mountain Reunion Association.
The festivities will begin at 7 p.m. Friday with food vendors and children’s rides by Palmetto Amusement out of Lexington. Rides will include a swing, Ferris wheel and a bouncy house for the younger children. Tickets will be sold for the rides, either single tickets or a day pass.
The Keith Dominick Band will perform from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
“A lot of people will be coming out for the Keith Dominick Band. A lot of people are big fans of theirs in Newberry County. Pretty much everyone knows who they are,” Graham said.
This year Steel Horse will cook the barbecue for the Reunion. Graham said they will begin cooking Friday night and all Saturday to provide for those in attendance. There will also be a variety of other vendors there both days, including a beer wagon.
“There will be a lot of traditional carnival foods, like sno-cones and elephant ears, and there will be homemade ice cream,” Graham said.
Saturday’s events will begin at 10 a.m. with the parade. Streets will be closed at 9:15 a.m. and Graham suggests everyone get there at 9 a.m. for a good seat for the parade. Typically the Reunion has 80 to 100 entries for the parade. To date, about 70 have signed up.
“I expect the amount of entries for the parade will grow by the end of next week. Every year we end up having last minute entries. Last year I had someone call the morning of,” Graham said.
A popular entry last year was a western style shoot out, which has been expanded this year.
“Once again there will be a ‘shoot out’ in the parade and there will also be two others in the park,” Graham said. “A warning to everyone — it will be loud, but it is not real shooting.”
The parade will also feature beauty queens, the Mid-Carolina High School band, cheerleaders and politicians. Those watching the parade will have the opportunity to catch some candy and other goodies as that will be allowed.
“There are few parades around that do not charge and I am proud to say we are one that does not charge,” Graham said.
The politicians are being organized by Rep. Walt McLeod, but to date Sen. Ronnie Cromer is the only other politician besides himself to confirm attendance.
“We unusually have better attendance during an election year. However, I will make the rounds on Monday and I am optimistic we will be having a host of distinguished political officials,” McLeod said.
Once the parade is over, politicians will give speeches on the main stage around 11 a.m. Joe Pinner will perform the invocation. Various bands will be performing on the main stage including Anybody’s Guess, Straight Shine and Albatross. The smaller stage will play host to karaoke from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
A car show will be put on by the school, with proceeds to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project.