The skies were dreary the afternoon of the Fourth of July, but Nassau County residents still got out to celebrate, many of them at the Northeast Florida Fairgrounds.
Despite the stormy Florida weather, The Light up the Sky Independence Day Celebration organized by the towns of Callahan and Hilliard exploded this year, with attendance impressing organizers.
Administrative Assistant and Event Coordinator for the Town of Hilliard Alicia Head said, “It actually blew us away. With the weather coming in, and those afternoon storms that we get in Florida, we actually were very pleasantly surprised. We had a large turnout, and it was a great time.”
Head said the only effect the weather had was a slight delay to some of the musical acts, but that the afternoon storms cooled it off just enough and everything went without a hitch. The fireworks began at the planned time of 9:15 p.m.
Head said the turnout for the watermelon-eating contest was particularly impressive.
“We did have a watermelon-eating contest for three age groups. We had children, teens and adults, and that honestly blew us away. We had (nearly) 50 children participate in the watermelon-eating contest, and that was amazing to see,” she said.
She added that the Pie Baking Contest proved to be a difficult task for the judges, as there was “lots of delicious pies to choose from.”
Nassau County Commissioner Klynt Farmer, Callahan Mayor Randy Knagge and Hilliard Mayor John Beasley were all judges for the Pie Baking Contest.
There were roughly 15 different organizations and businesses that brought in carnival games for those in attendance.
“That was a great time, I wanted to say thank you to all of them who showed up and showed out — gave everybody memories, that they’ll have for the rest of their lives now, all those children,” Head said.
The celebration to honor our nation’s independence also honored someone well-known by locals, especially those who love music. Head said the towns and Hilliard and Callahan both proclaimed July 4, 2024, as Rodney Mills Day. And the musical performances were dedicated to him, as well.
“We had three bands that played, all of their music that evening was a tribute to Rodney Mills,” Head said.
Mills and his family were in attendance to receive the proclamations. Not only that, but Head said “they were actually filming a portion of his documentary out at fairgrounds during the Fourth of July event.”
After more than 50 years in the music industry, Mills has earned more than 50 gold and platinum records for engineering, producing and mastering music. Some of the musicians he has worked with include 38 Special, Billy Joe Royal, Collective Soul, R.E.M., the Zac Brown Band, the Wallflowers, Pearl Jam and more.
This year among other sponsors for the event, Nassau County also chipped in to make the event extra special for the county’s bicentennial.
Before the event the News-Leader talked to Callahan’s town clerk and a coordinator for the event, Shawna Gugliazza. She said the funds the county added went to cover expenses for fireworks and the sheriff’s department, “in hopes that it would make the event a little bit bigger for the bicentennial event for this side of the county.”
“Thank you to sponsors, thank you to first responders and thank you to the Nassau County Sheriff’s Department, everybody did well working together as a team …” Gugliazza said.
She said, “I think everyone, as far as my team, and Hilliard and the county across the board just did a great job coming together … we all, I think, tackled it very well together.”
Sabrina Robertson wrote in the Nassau County Insider on July 5, “We had a great time celebrating Independence Day at the Callahan Fairgrounds yesterday. Thank you to the Towns of Callahan and Hilliard for organizing the event and for allowing Nassau County to be a part of it. Thank you as well to everyone who took time to visit our Nassau Vision 2050 tent to provide feedback that will guide the County in updating policies that will promote and manage growth, protect and enhance key areas of importance, help the County to accommodate future trends, and provide the necessary baseline for an update to the County Comprehensive Plan.”
At the Nassau County Board of County Commissioners meeting on Monday, Commissioner Alyson McCullough, donning her American flag sweater, proudly declared the event the best of the local Fourth of July events.
“We had probably the biggest, most awesome celebration. I know each district, you all got to do cool things, but I’m just saying the west side, we probably did it the best … We had the best Fourth of July celebration in the county. The Town of Hilliard and the Town of Callahan, it was such a great collaboration. We had a huge turnout, we had events all day long.”
“It was a great fellowship night,” McCullough said as she spoke of all the effort planners put into the event.
Commissioner Farmer said at the meeting, “As soon as the rain (receded), people poured in the gate and had a fantastic time.”
He said several vendors expressed to him that they had a very good night.
McCullough holds the District 4 seat, which represents several areas in the county, including Hilliard. Farmer holds the District 5 seat, which represents Callahan and West Yulee.
Nassau County definitely made sure it was well-illuminated across the county on Thursday. Chairman John Martin mentioned that the BOCC also chipped in some funds to go toward the downtown fireworks display, which is always a big hit for residents on Amelia Island.
achandler@fbnewsleader.com