Login | Register | Reset Password

Mitch Sneed at Large (in Culpeper)	• Subscribe

Culpeper’s celebration was near perfect for me
M Sneed
Jul 06, 2008

Culpeper did July 4th right, and I’m so glad that the paper got to play a very small part.
From more than 200 people running in the road race, to shiny cars and trucks lining Davis Street, to the Minutemen marching down Davis to read the Declaration of Independence to the parade, fun in the park and the fireworks – it was incredible.
The Culpeper Festival Committee should be proud.
There were some rain showers, lightning and anxious moments, but we got it all in.
My whole family spent most of the week here, and now they know why I fell in love with my new home.
It was such a great day.
It was the first year we did the Culpeper Olympics, but it won’t be the last.
At one time they counted more than 300 people gathered around the Star-Exponent tent, all waiting to compete in events from the Hula hoop to the egg run.
To see parents cheering for their kids and kids pushing their parents to show what they could do was so special.
Then there were sights like the two winners of the team water balloon toss, jumping into each other’s arms as they saw their last competitors get all wet as their balloon splattered.
Then there was the little girl who won the football throw for her age group, with her lips still blue from a sno-cone she had just finished. How about the boy who found the platinum peanut and knew he would have $20?
“I’m getting a funnel cake, ice cream and a sno-cone,” he said. “Yes!”
There were grown men diving across the finish line trying to win a sack race. It was a blast. Women in white pants, pearls and heels competed in the egg run next to those in cutoffs and tee shirts.
I even saw a boy at Food Lion the day after proudly wearing his medal.
The early lightning and the threat of rain may have made the greased pig chase impossible, but it was so much fun. Just having so many kids and parents coming up and thanking us for giving them something fun to do was worth it.
That’s what it’s all about.
There were also the sights that made the Olympics special for me personally.
For me seeing my 79-year-old father competing in the football throw, made the day. He enjoyed the car show and watched the fireworks with the same amazement as a 4-year-old boy, pointing all the ones he like the most.
Then there was the chance to watch my daughter, who helped me run the games, out-throw everyone, even if she wasn’t eligible to win.
But most of all, just having virtually my entire family here, enjoying Culpeper’s celebration, ribs and barbecue and each other’s company was the icing on the cake.
It was a day none of us will soon forget.