Rocket City residents and travelers can enjoy three full days of Fourth of July festivities this weekend, and it all starts this afternoon. MidCity District is hosting its fifth annual Independence Weekend Celebration at The Camp off University Drive in West Huntsville.
The event kicks off today at 3 p.m. with several food and drink specials, coffee and live music. However, the biggest day is Saturday. The day begins with Cars and Coffee at 8 a.m. before yoga at the High Point Climbing and Fitness lawn at 9 a.m. Visitors can later hear live music from 1 to 10 p.m. and purchase beignets, lemonade, popsicles and other goods at the event’s 10 different market vendors from 2 to 6 p.m. Day Two culminates with a fireworks show at 9:30 p.m. Festivities end on Sunday with the district’s weekly farmer’s market from 12 to 4 p.m.
MidCity Executive Director Lindsey Pattillo Keane said what makes this celebration unique is its two contests. The first contest is a Mullet and Mustache Contest on Saturday at 7 p.m. Keane said participants have a chance to show off their luscious locks and marvelous manes on stage while voters cheer them on.
“This is something we dreamed up last year and said, ‘This would be hilarious. Why don’t we rally all the quality mullets and mustaches, get them on stage and have a crowd cheering for their favorite?’” she said. “This is our second year doing it. Last year, I was almost in tears, I was laughing so hard. We had a blast with it.”
The second contest is a Watermelon Carving Contest on Sunday. Participants must bring their carved watermelons to The Camp by 1 p.m. that day. No watermelons may be carved on-site. Visitors will vote for their favorite melon on Facebook until Tuesday. Keane said this contest is a fun way to get the community involved.
“This is something I used to do with a dear friend,” she said. “You think carving is reserved for only pumpkins, but this is such a fun and creative way to get people out for the Fourth of July. There’s been some unbelievable watermelons that we’ve seen brought in.”
Winners of the Mullet and Mustache Contest may receive The Camp merchandise and gift cards. Nearly all participating MidCity tenants have pitched in to offer a prize pack for the winner of the Watermelon Carving Contest.
However, Keane said that is not the only part of this year’s celebration that makes it so special. The sky will light up with fireworks Saturday night beginning at 9:30 p.m. Keane said it will be one of the biggest fireworks shows in the state.
“I’m excited about everything, [but] I’m also really thrilled to see our partnership with Madison City Community Orchestra,” she said. “They have 80 members of a symphony that will be playing during our 20-minute firework show on Saturday night. That’s going to be unlike anything I have ever experienced or heard of in the U.S. I’ve never heard of it.”
Unlike many Fourth of July events this weekend, Keane said the celebration at MidCity has something for everyone.
“It’s interesting about MidCity, there can be a family and everyone likes and wants to do different things,” she said. “We can check all those boxes, whether it be music, or if you’re coming for the food, if you’re coming for the entertainment, [if] you’re coming for the Mullet and Mustache Contest [or if] you’re coming to shop. We can check all the boxes for the family because I know sometimes it’s hard to get everyone doing the same thing.”
Independence Weekend Celebration comes as MidCity celebrates many milestones of its own this year. MidCity is a 140-acre, mixed-use district that resides where the former Madison Square Mall once sat. In the past two months, it has opened two apartment complexes for residents to live on-site. Construction is also underway for the district’s Apollo Park, a public park that surrounds Orion Amphitheater.
“[MidCity] is a perfect place to explore [and] to see where we’re headed in Huntsville and where we’re headed in North Alabama with shopping, dining, eating and enjoying the community,” she said. “We just have a tremendous amount of creative, interesting things happening. We love welcoming people. We love seeing people meeting out for the first time. We love the diversity that enjoys MidCity.”
Entry and parking are free every day. Visitors may also bring their own blankets or chairs to tailgate and sit on the green during the fireworks show. Readers can visit MidCity District’s Facebook event for more information.
