Firecracker Bash To Open Local Fourth of July Celebration

Photo Courtesy of Leap Frog Program

First annual Firecracker Bash at LYRIC Oxford on July 3 benefits Leap Frog Program

There’s no reason to wait until the Fourth of July to get your 2013 Independence Day celebration off and rolling with a bang.

This July 3rd, true red, white and blue patriots can show their love of country while supporting a worthy cause by attending the Leap Frog Program’s first annual Firecracker Bash.

The event set to unfurl at the LYRIC OXFORD on Wednesday evening promises gourmet catering from City Grocery, music by The Mustache Band, hourly door prizes and the crowning of Mr. and Mrs. America.

It’s just the kind of party that a city in the midst of the summer doldrums needs to put some sparkle into American’s birthday bash says Leap Frog Director Teresa Adams.

“We hope that it will be a fun event. People can come out, have a good time and support our Leap Frog Program.”

Unlike the Firecracker Ball held in previous years, Adams said organizers decided to make the Firecracker Bash a much less formal affair.

“July is too hot for men to get into suits the night before July 4th, so we wanted just a casual celebration.”

Throughout the evening, which runs from 7:30 – 11:30 p.m., guests will be treated to food provided by John Currence and City Grocery restaurant (a whole hog and all the fixings) a silent auction and hourly door prizes.

“Pablo Corona Photography also will have a photo booth set up and will offer pictures for sale,” Adams said.

For the silent auction, guests can bid on a weekend getaway to Pelican Beach Resort in Destin, Florida, a weekend stay at the Inn at Ole Miss, a four-foot by three-foot American flag painted on tin by Leap Frog students, a home brewing class and five gallons of beer, a day on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and catering for 12 from Woodson Ridge Farms, among other silent auction items up for grabs.

The Firecracker Bash promises to start Oxford’s Fourth of July celebration with a bang. Photo Courtesy of Leap Frog Program

Adams said another highlight of the evening would be the crowing of Mr. and Mrs. America, chosen from among the group of volunteers who have raised the most money for Leap Frog, a non-profit, after-school tutoring and mentoring program serving 140 at-risk first, second, and third graders in the Oxford city and Lafayette county schools.

According to the Leap Frog website, “The mission of Leap Frog is to provide a nurturing environment in which “at-risk” students can develop and enhance necessary skills for academic success; build productive, ongoing relationships with adults; and improve their self-esteem.”

Tickets to the Firecracker Bash are $25 each and are on sale at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, the Oxford-University Methodist Church, Lulu’s Shoes and Accessories and Oxford Floral.

“There will be a cash bar set up at The Lyric,” Adams said, adding, “We will also sell wristbands for bottomless beer.

“We hope that it grows each year. Summers are dead in Oxford, and most people have the luxury of being off the next day, so we thought it was a perfect time to host the event.”

For more on the Firecracker Bash and the Leap Frog Program, click here.