July 4, 2024
By: Dwayne Page
A Celebration!
The Community Chorus and Mary Ann Puckett’s Clogging and Square Dance Teams invite you to join them at the Evins Park Amphitheater downtown Smithville this evening (July 4) starting at 6 p.m. for an Independence Day Celebration.
Evins Park is located across from Justin Potter Library and the Smithville Post Office.
The Community Chorus, under the direction of long-time Director Faye Fuqua, will take the stage first featuring a patriotic-themed program but you’ll want to bring your own seating and get as close as possible because the concert will be held without a full sound system.
Fuqua explained that this performance is really a rehearsal for the featured performance of the chorus to be held on Friday night, July 5th on the main Jamboree stage at the east side of the courthouse during the opening ceremony starting at 6 p.m.
“We will do a fanfare of patriotic music first followed by a salute in honor of the military. This year our tribute is Roots music with tunes like “Will the Circle be Unbroken” and we will feature blues, folk, country, gospel and it will include a performance from children and even cloggers. Its all part of who we are in this area,” said Fuqua.
The community chorus’ involvement with the Jamboree, Fuqua explained dates back to the beginning in 1972
“Three of the Jamboree founders, Berry Williams, Congressman Joe L. Evins, and James G. “Bobo” Driver approached me and said they wanted to have a patriotic program around the 4th of July, and they asked me to help organize it. They especially wanted to involve high school students. I said let’s use people of all ages from the churches and they agreed. At that time were we doing the lighting of the tree at Christmas time, and I had put together a group for that so this is how it all began and from that I assured those three men that we would always have a patriotic program at the Jamboree,” Fuqua explained.
Jackie Smith, another community chorus veteran, said its an honor to be part of something that has become a tradition and is now known far and wide.
“I got involved around 1972 right after my husband Wade and I came back from overseas while he was in the service. I may have missed one or two performances but its something I look forward to each year. One thing we are very honored about is that the Jamboree was named some years ago as the official state festival,” said Smith.
Immediately Following the performance of the community chorus tonight (Thursday) at Evins Park 5 Square Dance Teams, led by the Square-Dancing Queen herself, Mary Ann Puckett, will dazzle the audience.
The performing Square Dance teams include:
•Smithville Select (who recently performed on The Grand Ole Opry stage)
•DeKalb Dancin’ Delights
•Center Hill Hoedown
•Caney Fork Circle Eights
•Ragland Bottom Roundup