By Dewey Terrill
JC Post
The lineup for the Freedom Fest - Junction City celebration this summer was unveiled Friday morning.
Speaking during a Municipal Building press conference a member of the group working to bring the new celebration to the community, Ashley King, provided details. "From the very beginning Freedom Fest's goal is to provide entertainment for the entire family in downtown Junction City during the Fourth of July weekend. We are confident we'll do just that. "
King announced that WEEI Entertainment, previously known as Ottawa Amusements Co., will be located along 6th and Jefferson in downtown Junction City June 30th through July 4th. They will have carnival rides, funnel cakes, Fried Oreos and other activities. "In addition to the carnival there will be numerous food and craft vendors in Heritage Park, performances by Disco Dick & Mirrorballs, Paramount, ZZ-KC ( a ZZ Top Tribute Band ), Rock Gods, Brandon Estelle and Rhett Walker." There will also be a future headliner performer but an announcement on that show has not yet been made.
There will be food and craft vendors in Heritage Park plus entertainers for the family including Hog Diggity Dogs, The Circus Man and Agri Puppets. Those acts will perform July 2nd through July 4th.
King noted Freedom Fest is possible because of donations that have been received and there will be a couple of fundraisers in the future including a golf tournament at Rolling Meadows Golf Course.
Freedom Fest Chair Nate Butler said the current projected budget for the celebration is about $123,000 to $125,000. "We're well into that amount being raised. We've got a lot of great sponsors who've come along and said, hey, we want to see this happen."
Butler said Saturday night, July 2nd, will be the big night, "where we'll have a big fireworks show and a street dance after the fireworks show. On Sunday, July 3rd, there will be a combined morning worship celebration in Heritage Park plus that evening Christian music performers Brandon Estelle and Rhett Walker. There is planning under way for an additional fireworks show on Monday, July 4th.
There will also be a separate Sundown Salute celebration this year, with many of the activities in Milford and some in Junction City.