Hundreds of volunteer hours are necessary to put on an event the magnitude of this year’s Greenwood Freedfest Celebration.  Mayor Kenneth Edwards put together a committee to work on the 2010 event. “City Councilman Lance Terry told me last year that the City should take it back over and make it bigger than ever”, Edwards remembers. “the committee has met weekly at A. C. Brown’s office for about two months and it is taking shape. Big name bands as well as local talent, big sound equipment and free lunch should draw a big crowd for the July 3rd event”, the Mayor added.

The Freedomfest 5K, a certified run will start at 7:30 AM. The Masonic Lodge Pancake Breakfast will be served from 6:00 on. Children’s activities with games, bounce arounds and hay rides and pony rides will be ready by 9:00 AM along with the traditional horseshoe tournament. There will be a casual attire Independence Day service at 11:00 AM at the Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church followed by free lunch of hot dogs, chips, drinks and ice cream on the square at noon.

Kelly Hendrix will be the host for the morning entertainment on the Square. Big name bands will begin about noon and carry visitors through to the start of the largest fireworks display in the area after sunset. Scheduled bands are “Mr. Cabbage Head and the Screaming Radishes”, a bluegrass band called “Common Thread”, “10 Spur” and “Fordamatic”-all with concert sound that will assure the music can be heard all over the downtown area.

Vendors are welcome for the “family atmosphere” venue at no charge to the vendor. They should call parks Director Doug Kinslow at 806-2241 or Sandra Traylor in the mayor’s office at 996-2742.

Freedomfest was once used as a fund raiser for the Boys and Girls Club. “It isn’t fair to ask those volunteers to risk spending this kind of money for a fundraiser”, Edwards says. The committee of A. C. and Kimberly Brown, Steve Ratteree, Joan Van Vactor, Lance Terry, Kelly Hendrix, Tina Skaggs and Sabrina Edwards have been meeting with the Mayor, Finance Director Steve Tedford, Doug Kinslow and Fire Chief Stewart Bryan to develop plans for the event and have been awarded $10,000.00 by the City of Greenwood A&P Commission to help stage the largest celebration in Greenwood history. “Corporate donors, office seekers and individuals have been generous. They want to see something that our town can be proud of and this event will not disappoint. Downtown Greenwood will be ‘the place to be’ on Saturday July 3rd”, said Mayor Edwards.