Colerain picnic celebrates America’s 250th anniversary
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COLERAIN - The village of Colerain celebrated America's 250 anniversary on Sunday afternoon.
The celebration was organized by a committee called "Citizens of Colerain for 250 years of America’s Freedom" and was held at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church's Cabrini Hall from 1-4 p.m.
Committee member Jim Bolon said that the committee consists of village residents from all walks of life with the common goal of celebrating the country and the village.
"We thought it’d be a good idea to put something together to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary. It was short notice, we did it in just a month-and-a-half's notice but had a lot of support from the community," Bolon said. "It turned out really good."
As most America 250 events took place around Independence Day, Bolon said that the decision to make the Colerain America 250 event on Aug. 16 was in hopes to not have it overlap with any other local America 250 events.
"We figured a lot of places were doing a lot of things for the Fourth of July, and plus people would be having family picnics and all. So we thought we should just pick out a little later date," Bolon said. "We thought we’d throw it together and do it in August. And then people also asked why didn’t we do it a little later instead of such short notice, but we figured we might as just have it now, for a better opportunity to get more people here at this point.
He added that if they waited to have the celebration later that it would be during the football season which would affect the turnout.
The event offered free hamburgers, hot dogs, desserts, and drinks for everyone in attendance. It also featured games for both adults and children.
"We have bingo and a euchre tournament. We also had a presentation of the colors. The honor guard brought that in which consisted of military, law enforcement, and fire and EMS members," Bolon said. "Bob Farmer, who’s the head of the honor guard, presented the colors."
He added that Farmer then spoke honoring military personnel that had been lost in wars going back to the Revolutionary War. The event then honored all veterans and first responders who were in attendance.
Bolon said that the event was originally supposed to be outside, but due to rainy weather, it was moved into the hall. But that did not deter a substantial crowd from attending.
Bolon said that he is thankful for the community's response to showing up to the event because he believes it's crucial for all residents to understand the sacrifice that veterans gave for the country.
“I think it’s important for people to know the meaning of the freedom of this country and what we have due to the military and what they’ve done to protect us," Bolon said.