RIPLEY, W.Va. — The town of Ripley is preparing for thousands of visitors of their annual July 4th celebration, which has been dubbed the “Largest Small-Town 4th of July celebration.”
The town will be getting the events underway at 10 a.m. Friday with an opening ceremony before an 11:30 firecracker race.
The main event will be the Sheetz Grand Parade at around noon, which goes from Ripley High School to the Wal Mart. According to Brenda Mobley with the Ripley Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, it’ll be a packed parade.
“I know we have 160 registered, but we’ll have several I’m sure show up that didn’t get registered that we’ll include,” Mobley said on MetroNews Talkline. “It’s about a two-hour long parade. It’s a very fun afternoon.”
The Ripley parade has been around since the late 1800’s.
At 2 p.m., the town will host their “Star Spangled Showdown, which is a voice competition with cash prices.
The Independence Day celebrations do not end with the afternoon festivities, as Ripley will begin hosting live music. Grace Campbell, a Princeton native, will play at 4 p.m. at the Constellium, followed by Dwight Eisenhower and the Promised Land Bank at 6 p.m. Then at 8 p.m., it’s former American Idol contestant Bucky Covington headline the concert.
The town will then shoot off fireworks at 10 p.m.
Mobley says Ripley goes all out every year for the 4th of July because the citizens want to properly honor the land they love.
“Ripley, Jackson County is probably the most patriotic city and county that you will ever find,” Mobley said. “They’re always wanting to celebrate and show our respect and celebration for our country.”