By Mindy Ragan Wood
Staff Writer
A small town does not necessarily make a small Fourth of July celebration.
Piedmont’s festival last week went over the top with new entertainment and thrilling features and drew a larger crowd than last year.
“Everybody really liked it and they loved being able to come and do everything for free,” City of Piedmont Events Coordinator Robin Murray said. “We had several people who said they didn’t realize it was a free event and told us they would donate to it.”
Piedmont’s Freedom Fest did see thousands of dollars donated from local businesses and citizens to make sure the event was better than ever. This year the festival included a zip line, a Houdini-like escape artist who broke free from chains in a water tank, a hula-hoop performer and a miniature pig race to name a few new attractions.
Steve Crawford is an escape artist, magician and actor who was featured on the History Channel last year. He occasionally works with Robin Hocker, owner of Chester the Clown Party Barn when he isn’t auditioning for acting jobs in Los Angeles.
Hours before his performance, he invited people to inspect a water tank where he would be submerged in chains during an escape performance. He almost didn’t make it to the event due to a previous stunt injury, but he turned out and was ready to defy the odds as he had so many times in his career.
“I’ve been dropped from an airplane in a box before,” he recalled of previous death defying acts. “I flew an airplane blindfolded for a show. I’ve been buried alive. I hold the world record for being the fastest person to get out of handcuffs.”
Crawford wasn’t the only performer that drew a large crowd. The Swifty Swine show was a hit as people cheered on pint-sized Vietnamese pigs racing around a short track.
The pigs were well trained and ran as soon as the gate was lifted, but the show’s emcee and pig handler, Libero Kinnear said training was only one reason they perform consistently.
“It’s a race for an Oreo cookie,” he said. “They’ll do anything for a cookie.”
One little pig did not seem to need a cookie for her performance diving into a trough and swimming a lap to the other side. The prim and proper pig take a bathroom break on the side of trough, careful not to soil the pool in which she would swim. The crowd laughed at her antics and cheered her on as Kinnear lifted her in the air and hailed her as his water champion.
People from Cashion, Edmond, Surrey Hills and Piedmont trickled in early despite the sweltering heat and humidity, but after the parade, downtown was packed with long lines to carnival rides, food trucks and art booths.
“We were planning to go to Edmond,” said a Cashion resident who brought her family. “But it was too big and too hot. We came here tonight instead.”
Several people remarked to Murray that they enjoy the small town feel of the festival and the unmistakable sense of old-fashioned Americana community spirit. That feeling is brought about because it takes the entire community to pull off the event every year.
“We have a lot of volunteers, police and fire, a lot of businesses pitch in and do their part, city staff. It’s a lot of hands on deck. We start planning a good six months out in January. We meet to determine where the fireworks will be shot off, what the theme will be and what will add to keep the crowd interested every year,” Murray said. “Local businesses donated thousands of dollars for it and it’s the same businesses who donate for everything during the year. We really appreciate them and everyone who helps out.”
Last year the theme was America’s Birthday and this year was a fair-style carnival. The theme helps organizers determine what to add to the event. Murray said they chose a pig race because those are common at fairs and the escape artist because it was the kind of act someone might see at a carnival or circus.
A big hit at the festival every year, perhaps more than carnival rides and parade, is the battle of the badges.
“The fire department won again this year,” Murray said. “It’s something people really look forward to.”
