Hoover celebrates 50th anniversary at Veterans Park
Fifty years ago, there was no Veterans Park along Valleydale Road, and the city of Hoover was just a fledgling town of 400 or so residents nine miles away on U.S. 31.
But on Saturday, an estimated 15,000 to 18,000 people flooded the 82-acre city park for Hoover’s 50th anniversary celebration.
The event, called Celebrate Hoover Day, has been an annual tradition ever since the city celebrated its 40th anniversary there 10 years ago.
This year, as in recent years, the celebration included live entertainment, carnival rides, inflatables, pony rides, a petting zoo, Birmingham Zoo and Alabama Widlife Center animal and bird exhibits, face painting, balloon twisting, a Home Depot kids’ workshop, a car show and live characters such as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger.
There also was free cotton candy and a host of food trucks, including Bendy’s Cookies & Cream, Bruster’s Real Ice Cream, Chick-fil-A, Chicken Salad Chick, Cowboy Chicken, Devil Dawgs Concessions, Fetch (dog treats), Jim ‘N Nick’s, Kona Ice, Pazzo Big Slice Pizza, Repicci’s Italian Ice, Swamp Monster BBQ and Urban Pops.
The Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce also had a large tent where businesses, churches, nonprofits and other organizations in the community shared information about themselves.
The Hoover police and fire departments participated, too, and had some of their specialized teams and equipment on display, such as the bomb squad, dive team, Special Response Team, mobile command unit, a drone, a ladder fire truck and equipment for technical rescues. Police also provided free child ID kits to parents, including their children’s photos and fingerprints.
The four-hour event began at 11 a.m. with a ceremony to dedicate six new brick pavers at Veterans Plaza in honor of U.S. military veterans Nicholas Bourboulas, Frederick Austin Busby, George Chiotakis, Charley Gillespie, Tom Kantargis and Dr. Ernest Tucker III.
City officials once again fed the crowd a giant apple pie cooked by the Jefferson State Community College Culinary and Hospitality Institute in a pan that is 10 feet, 3 inches in diameter. They supplemented the free apple pie with ice cream.
Hoover and Spain Park high school students joined with Make-A-Wish Alabama to surprise a 4-year-old liver cancer survivor from Opelika by granting his wish to go to the beach for the first time in his life. Read more about the Make-A-Wish presentation here.
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said it was wonderful to see so many people enjoying themselves at today’s festival. “It’s just a testament to the 50 years of Hoover,” he said.
In remarks on the main stage, Brocato also said it was awe-inspiring to see how the city of Hoover has grown over the years into the sixth largest city in the state, with nearly 90,000 residents.
Hoover grew up as a suburb of Birmingham, but its people need to start thinking differently about the city and seeing it as more than just a suburb, Brocato said. “We’re a mighty powerful retail engine in the state of Alabama,” he said.
The city of Hoover needs to work to diversify its business base to include more science, technology, engineering and math jobs, Brocato said, adding that the city soon will be hiring an economic developer to help with that task.
Hoover’s people are highly educated and demand a high quality of life, and city officials will work to continue providing that for them, Brocato said. “We’re really excited about the future.”
Jennifer Moss, whose husband Craig Moss is the city’s parks and recreation director, said their family comes to the Celebrate Hoover Day every year, and not just because her husband works for the city. Their 9-year-old daughter, Demi, said “it’s really fun, and there’s a lot of stuff to do.” She said she particularly likes the inflatables and painting booth.
Eugene and Deahanna Silmon, also Hoover residents, were there Saturday with their 6-year-old daughter Anayah and 1-year-old son Malachi. Their family comes every year as well, she said.
Their daughter likes the inflatables, science projects, slime booth and hula hoops — “anything interactive they can get to quickly,” she said. As for their 1-year-old son, “he just likes to go to all the characters and hug them.”
Her favorite activity is going through the vendor tent and seeing all the businesses and other groups. While there, she said she learned about a crawfish boil being put on May 13 by a Methodist church.
“We wouldn’t have known about that if we hadn’t come,” she said.
She said she liked how there were more food trucks this year than in previous years, and added that her husband had his eyes glued on the loaded fries from Devil Dawgs ever since they arrived. As for her, she enjoyed the blended raspberry sorbet from Bruster’s.
Here are some video clips from the 2017 Celebrate Hoover Day: