Heflin's Independence Day bash brings in star-spangled crowd

Jul. 3—HEFLIN — Heflin residents and their friends kicked off Independence Day celebration a couple of days early Saturday in the city's park.

Just east of Ross Street at Heflin City Park, the smell of salty pork rinds and barbecued hamburgers filled the air as kids ran freely, their faces sticky with watermelon juice.

Three-year-old Stetson Skinner was one of them, waving a red balloon sword and brandishing a tiny red white and blue top hat. Skinner's parents were grilling hamburgers nearby to promote their business, Rockhouse Farms out of Fruithurst.

"We've already had a very good turnout. We plan to sell probably about 200 hamburgers. That's what we're hoping," his mother, Karah Skinner, said. "This is our first year doing it here. We hope to come back, though."

In addition to the burgers and pork rinds, there was a fair amount of food and yummy treats available, some even for free.

The Democratic Party had a booth set up giving away big chunks of watermelon, volunteers made rounds with free popsicles, and a church local to Heflin had a booth set up for free "Vacation Bible School" style crafts.

Fresh squeezed lemonade and other vendors with chips and snacks were also set up. Heflin's Mayor Robby Brown joked that he was out of commission as he sampled a little of everything that was offered.

"We got a wonderful turnout. We got the parade coming in, we got fireworks, we got pork skins, we got all kinds of food," Brown said, hotdog in hand. "We got hamburgers from Rockhouse Farms, Pecan Farms is displaying all their tasty treats."

"We got a little bit of everything," Brown continued. "We got good music, good food, good camaraderie. We are ready to go."

The parade that ended at the park brought in more patrons while folks clad in star-spangled attire spread their spirit for the holiday. A man and woman wearing full American flag suits rode in a patriotically adorned golf cart.

A steady trickle of people filled the park under the shade around 4 p.m. when the event started. By 5 p.m., the Reese Burke band was playing and the event was well underway. The fireworks were scheduled to begin at 9 p.m.