By Paul Garrod
Staff Writer
LAWTON – Final preparations are being made for this year’s Lawton Summerfest, July 8, in downtown Lawton, according to the Lawton Summerfest Committee.
Main Street will be closed from Fourth Street to White Oak Road, July 8, from 6 a.m. to midnight. Traffic will be detoured around town. Signage will be put in place along the detour route. Summerfest attendees are also asked not to park along Second Street from 4 to 6 p.m. to allow the parade to pass by.
A 5K run will take place at 8 a.m., beginning at the Lawton Middle School sign. For more information, contact Betty Maxwell at (269) 532-2030. This is a free event for those who want to participate.
8 a.m. – 3 p.m. – Car Show on Main Street, $15 registration fee. The gate will open at 7 a.m. for car show participants on Union Street, and will close at 10 a.m., with no other entries allowed after that. Participants are asked to stay with their vehicle until 2 p.m.
For more information about the car show contact Ryan Custentino at (269) 760-7399 or Rob Motycka at (269) 234-3156.
Other events planned during the day include a Cornhole Tournament at 9 a.m. at Reid’s Corner, located next to Wagoner’s grocery store. There is a fee of $20, with registration from 8:15 to 8:30 a.m. Blind draw.
Also, from 9 a.m. to dusk, face painting will be available in front of the Lawton Fire Department. There will also be glitter tattoo artist, bubble braid hair extensions, and a henna tattoo artist.
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. a craft show will be held on Third Street and the alley. Set up will begin at 7 a.m. To date, more than 60 vendors have already signed up to participate.
A DJ will be playing music from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., downtown.
Two events getting underway from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Free kids’ games will take place inside the Lawton Fire Department building, and Cardio Drumming in front of the Lawton Fire Department building on Main Street.
4 to 9 p.m. – Bounce Houses, free for kids at Reid’s Corner.
5 p.m. – Parade will travel down Second Street to Main Street and end at Fourth Street. Lineup begins at 4 p.m. in front of Lawton Elementary School. No registration needed.
6:30 p.m. – National Anthem
7 p.m. to dusk – Music on Main Street by the The Bronk Bros.
Dusk – Fireworks.
Committee member Heather Shannon said a variety of food trucks will be on hand through the event and will open at 9 a.m. in the parking lot next to the Lawton Fire Department building.
This year’s lineup includes Ibison Concessions, Little Scoop, Girl Scouts, Theresa’s Kitchen, Motor Mouth, Wine Country Catering, Curbside Coffee, and King of the Kettle. Scott’s Pig Roast will be open after the parade next to Big T.
No alcohol will be allowed in the streets, according to Shannon, who said it is a family friendly event. Police officers will be at the event on patrol. Also, there will be no motorcycle parking inside the barricades. They will be towed at the owner’s expense. Bicycles, scooters, skateboards, golf carts, and side-by-sides will not be allowed on Main Street during the event.
For individuals wishing to volunteer at the event, a meeting will be held Thursday, July 6, at the park next to the Red Brick building.
For more information, contact Shannon at (269) 655-4262 or heathershannon0@gmail.com.