Memorial Villages Independence Festival

The Villages Independence Festival will take place on Sat., July 2 and kicks off with the Festival Parade at 9 a.m. The parade route begins at the Memorial Church of Christ at Gaylord and Echo Lane, continues east on Gaylord to N. Piney Point. It then turns south on N. Piney Point and concludes at Memorial Drive Baptist Church around 9:45 am. Traditional parade participants include decorated cars and floats from Piney Point Village, Bunker Hill Village, Hunters Creek Village, Hedwig Village, Spring Valley and Hilshire Village. Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty is the entertainment sponsor. Residents are encouraged to dress up for the holiday and join the parade.

The Festival has added another fun event this year – a fun run starting just before the parade. It is called the 1.776 Fun Run and it follows the same route as the parade. There is no charge for the fun run.  Just register here.

Following the parade, the Villages Independence Day Festival will continue at Memorial Drive Baptist Church at 325 N. Piney Point Rd. At 10 am, the opening ceremony will take place with all of the mayors, dignitaries and the pastor of Memorial Drive Baptist Church. Kid-friendly activities include games, rides, a photo booth, slime machine, bucking bull, rock wall, food and drinks. Musical entertainment held throughout the festival will include:

10:30-11 am: The Texas Dixie Kings (Dixieland music)

11:05-11:15 am: Inertia (hip hop dance group from Westside High School)

11:20-11:50 am: Pee Wee Bowen Band (‘50s-‘60s rock & roll)

11:55 am-12:05 pm: Inertia (hip hop dance group from Westside High School)

12:10-12:40 pm: Texas Trio (country western)

The premier sponsors of the festival are Piney Point Village, Bunker Hill Village, Hunters Creek Village, Hedwig Village, Spring Valley and Hilshire Village and the host sponsor is Memorial Drive Baptist Church.

Since parking is limited in the area, a shuttle service to the main festival site will run from Memorial Senior High School and from the Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church (MDPC) parking lots.  Since Blalock is under construction at Memorial Drive, the residents who want to catch the shuttle bus at MDPC should go in the west entrance and catch the bus at the Scout House.  The shuttle busses will make a continuous loop starting at 8:15 a.m., pause while the parade goes down Piney Point, and then resume until 2:00 p.m.

The Festival concludes at 1 pm when the big ladder truck from the Villages Fire Department sprays water from the top of its fully extended ladder over the kids, who gather in the middle of the grounds. For more information, please contact Susan Schwartz at [email protected] or 832-264-4478.