Saturday marked a very special day at Smith Lake Park as crowds poured in to help honor the countless men and women that have sacrificed for our country and celebrate the park’s 50th anniversary with this year’s Memorial Day Festival. There were arts and crafts vendors, food vendors, a golf cart parade and plenty of live music.
The day started with Zach and Cheyloe Martin performing at 9:30 a.m. and BREZ followed them up at 11 a.m. At noon, a golf cart parade took place, and six very decorative golf carts took part in the parade. At 12:30 p.m., the Cam Spinks Band took the stage to perform. The day concluded with Samuel Hubbard taking the stage at 2:30 p.m.
Kimberly Siegel and her niece, Holly Beth, talked about how special it was to see Smith Lake Park host a Memorial Day event on its 50th anniversary, plus what we all learned from those people that paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country.
“It’s wonderful to see local events done in remembrance of those who sacrificed their life for our country and our freedom,” Siegel said. “What we’ve learned from those people is that we should never take our freedoms for granted, to live each day with joy and passion, and to serve one another with love, compassion, and dedication to making the world a better place, one person at a time.” Beth said, “It is amazing. It’s always great to see so many people come out to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. We learned how our freedoms are never free. They always come with a price and sometimes, that price is a very big one.”
This was the first time that Kimberly had attended the Memorial Day festival and was really happy to see a big turnout at a very special event. As for Holly, she’s been to several events and is really touched to see a lot of people come out and support those that paid the ultimate sacrifice.
“It’s the first time that I’ve been to the Memorial Day festival, but I normally go to the Veteran’s Day celebrations because my dad was an Army Veteran,” Siegel said. “It was wonderful to see a big turnout, especially being dual celebrations for Memorial Day and Smith Lake Park’s 50th anniversary.”
“I absolutely love the live music and the bands that came out are awesome. All the vendors are wonderful, and the food is amazing,” Beth said. “I’ve been to several events like this and honestly, it warms my heart to see everyone out and enjoying their beautiful day. We are not promised another day, so it’s beautiful to see everyone being together.”
Kimberly and Holly took away a lot from the event and offered some advice to those people that are choosing to serve and those who are considering it.
“As far as Memorial Day goes, it’s not just a three-day weekend or an excuse to go to the lake and grill out,” Siegel said. “It’s to remember those who sacrificed everything for our country. It’s a day to stop and reflect on the many joys in life and it’s a day to slow down in such a fast world and be thankful for every single person in your circle.”
“My advice to those enlisted or thinking about doing so would be to just carry Jesus with you wherever you go, learn something new every day, and never take one second with family, friends, and loved one for granted,” Beth said. “When people come together, we can all be happy. It’s such an honorable position to hold being in our military. My advice would be, if you can set your mind to it, you can do it. Keep pushing.”
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