Sunny weather brings 10,000-plus to 2018 Celebrate Hoover Day
An estimated 10,000 to 12,000 people came out for a sunny Celebrate Hoover Day on April 28 at Veterans Park off Valleydale Road, organizers said.
“It was a pretty weather day and a great day for people to have a good time at the park and take part in many different activities,” said Erin Colbaugh, the events coordinator for the city of Hoover.
The day kicked off at 11 a.m. with a ceremony to honor veterans at the Veterans Plaza. The city’s Veterans Committee recognized four veterans who had brick pavers installed recently in the plaza: John Lassiter and Anthony Clay Ward of the U.S. Marines, James Raymond Pugh of the U.S. Navy and Allen Fulton Whittington of the U.S. Army.
Retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Paul Pocopanni was the master of ceremonies, and Berry Middle School sixth-grader Hadley Carter sang the national anthem. World War II veteran and Hoover resident Cpl. John Little led the audience in the pledge of allegiance to the U.S. flag, and Bluff Park United Methodist Church Pastor Mike Holly led in a prayer.
Bagpiper Daniel Akin of the Alabama Pipes & Drums group played “Amazing Grace,” and the Howlin’ Mad Smith Detachment of the U.S. Marine Corps League re-enacted the famous photo of Marines raising a U.S. flag on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima in February 1945.
U.S. Army Capt. Daniel Porris led four new Army recruits in stating their oath of enlistment prior to them heading off to basic training, to acknowledge the future of the U.S. military.
Right after the veterans ceremony, Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato and city council members helped dig into a giant apple pie that was 10 feet 3 inches in diameter, and volunteers served the free pie and ice cream to go with it.
About the same time, entertainment began at the main stage and continued throughout the day, including the Spain Park Dazzlers dance team, Spain Park High School theater department, Greystone Elementary School Jumpin’ Jags Jump Rope Team, Berry Middle School Sparklers dance team, a Tiger Rock Martial Arts demonstration, the bands Julia Tamburello and the Legal Limit and One Step Closer.
Children played in the kids zone, which included carnival rides and inflatables, and a live disc jockey oversaw games. The Birmingham Zoo, Alabama Wildlife Center and a group called 6th Day Creatures brought animals for kids to see and pet, and there also were pony rides, face painters, balloon twisters and a car show.
The Hoover Police Department offered free child identification kits that included fingerprinting and showed off its canine unit and special equipment from the bomb unit, special response team and mobile command center. The Hoover Fire Department technical rescue team and UAB Critical Care Unit also were there.
Businesses and other groups with the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce manned an exhibitor tent, and numerous food trucks were there to provide lunch and a multitude of goodies.
A company called Shred-It offered free document destruction in the parking lot at Spain Park High School.