Information has been scant so far about the grand, over-the-top, 1945-themed July 4 blowout planned by Nathan Wooten and the Dade Chamber of Commerce. But Wooten showed up at the monthly Trenton City Commission meeting Monday night to ask for road closures and police presence for the event, and from all indications he really has pulled out all the stops.
Originally planned to sprawl across Trenton from Veterans Park to Jenkins Park, the event is now centered at Jenkins Park, but Wooten expects it still to sprawl far enough to close parts of Price, Bond and Montague streets. He said there would be close to 100 vendors, and asked the commission to keep the city pool open until 9 p.m. that evening.
Most events will be outdoors--Wooten listed a hot-dog-eating contest, cornhole tournament, kids' slip-n-slide and a vintage World War II-era baseball game. But others will take place inside the Trenton Civic Center, said the organizer, including pie-making and -eating contests and a beauty pageant for "Ms. Dade."
Interested in that particular crown, ladies? The contest's flyer lists a string of qualifications, beginning with a birthdate before 1988, allowing Ms. D to be a little longer in the tooth than your typical sash-and-tiara type; including "good health and moral character," with a further specification requiring a clean arrest record; and also notably including the requirement "must be recognized medically and legally as a female in the United States." So: Is this a rather combatively-worded requirement list, or will there be some actual Checking of Parts? Don't ask The Planet. Ask the Dade Chamber of Commerce at (706) 657-4488.
And so as not to leave out those of the male persuasion, the big day will also include a men's hairy leg pageant. The only requirements there is that contestants be men and have hairy legs. (No legal or medical certifications were listed for this one, guys--the old double standard!)
Also on Wooten's ambitious agenda are horseshoes, music, a watermelon-seed-spitting contest, homemade ice cream competition and vintage World War II-era baseball game. There are in fact hobbyists who specialize in playing baseball in vintage uniforms. Wooten explained that the 1945 motif is to memorialize and celebrate Dade's famous reentry into the Union on July 4 of that year.
There is a mirky tradition that "The Independent State of Dade" preceded Georgia in seceding from the Union before the Civil War--go to The Planet's homepage to access Donna Street's historical article on that subject. According to the historical record (and according to Ms. Street), that probably didn't happen--but what did for sure happen was a splashy, joyous "rejoining" of the rest of the country on July 4, 1945, complete with a congratulatory telegram from President Truman.
The event had been staged by Dade organizers including its famous son J.M.C. "Red" Townsend, a Georgia Superior Court judge who used his pull with Atlanta media to put a national spotlight on the little isolated county at the top left corner of the state.
All Wooten's planned festivities will take place on the 4th itself, a Wednesday, as opposed to the preceding weekend, when the New Salem Volunteer Fire Department and Community Center traditionally stages its popular fireworks display.
July 4 events begin at 2 p.m. and will culminate in a parade at 8 p.m., then in a fireworks show at Dade Elementary at 9 p.m. Some competitions--Wooten mentioned the cornhole tournament--involve an entry fee, but this is a free event with no admission price and organizers have made every effort to provide as much family fun as possible at no cost to participants.
"We hope it's going to be good for the county, and we hope it don't rain that day," concluded Wooten.
For more details, call the chamber--again, (706) 657-4488--or visit the festival's Facebook page. Here's a link:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/1945-Dade-County-Fair-1626059907445895/events/
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