Olde Time Family Fourth fund raiser set for July 4th - of course

WARWICK — The Warwick Valley Community Center will hold its second annual Olde Time Family Fourth Fund Raiser on Wednesday, July 4, with an even greater emphasis on having its guests become participants.
It starts with the return of the Village of Warwick’s Bicycle Parade and Pageant. And like last year, E’lissa Jones Band will be the featured entertainer and there will be square dancing, games for kids, homestyle cookout type food for purchase, a dunk tank (yes, you can dunk the mayor), old-fashioned games for kids and vendors. And like last year, there will be other contests - just a lot more of them.
Joining the Bicycle Parade and Pageant will be mustache and beard and watermelon and pie-eating contests along with contests for best homemade pickles, home baked pies and Jello mold. Bring your best and enter $5 fee.
Those will be on display in an air-conditioned cooling-off room inside the center where event-goers can cast their ballots for the best. Add to all that a tug-of-war tournament.
The Bicycle Parade and Pageant will begin at 10:45 a.m. at Railroad Green (participants are encouraged to arrive by around 10:15 a.m.). The parade (look below for more details) will end at the community center at 11 Hamilton Ave., with the Olde Time Family Fourth running from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The event began last year as a fund raiser for the community center. The center has been a leader in Orange County in providing drug and alcohol prevention programs for youth and provides numerous programs for all ages. Its 3 Pines Nature Place is replacing a traditional playground and just received a Placemaking award from the Orange County Citizens Foundation.
A local band will play at 11 followed by the watermelon-eating contest. Then at 12, the Warwick VFW Color Guard will be on hand with both a veteran and a youth involved in the center’s leadership programs leading everyone in patriotic songs.
After the mustache and beard contests, there will be square dancing led by caller Pat Cannon. At 2:30, both kids and adults will take part in pie eating contests - followed by Ebony Strings and local singer and fiddle-player E’lissa Jones and Band.
There will also be a magician, face painting, animals and in the afternoon, circus performers and demonstrations. Participants are asked to bring their pickles, pies or Jello molds to the center by 11.
All those riding bikes in the parade are required to wear a helmet. Riders without helmets will be required to walk with their bikes during the parade. The Parade and Pageant are free to enter and there is no registration necessary.
Tickets for the Olde Time Family Fourth will be offered to participants of the Bicycle parade at a 50 percent discount. Winners of the contest will be announced shortly after the parade.
The categories are Best Vintage, Most Patriotic and Most Unique, each subdivided by ages under seven, between seven and 18 and 18 and over. The grand prize for the adult category will be two tickets to a Broadway show, courtesy of radio station WTBQ.
Tickets to the Olde Time Family Fourth fund raiser are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and veterans and $7 for kids 5 to 12. Call the center at 845-986-6422 for more information.