Freedom Festival to celebrate the Fourth

Havelock plans a nearly all-day celebration of the nation's - as well as the city's - birthday on Saturday at Havelock City Park.

The Freedom Festival is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and will feature a variety of games, entertainment, food, and about 30 vendor and informational booths. 

The schedule includes an egg relay at 11 a.m., balloon toss at 12:30 p.m., band performance at 1 p.m., two-legged race at 2:30 p.m., three-legged race at 3:30 p.m., hula hoop contest at 5:30 p.m., pie-eating contest at 7:30 p.m., the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band performance at 8 p.m., and fireworks around 9 p.m.

This year's fireworks display is expected to be more explosive than in year's past in honor of Havelock's 50th anniversary of incorporation. Voters approved incorporation during an election on July 25, 1959, and the city has been celebrating with a variety of events all week.

Also on tap is the burial of a time capsule scheduled for 10 a.m. on Sunday at the construction site for the new fire station at Tucker Creek.