RIPLEY, W.Va. — Billed as “The USA’s Largest Small Town Independence Day Celebration,” Ripley’s July 4th events will continue as scheduled Monday in Jackson County, one of the 12 West Virginia counties included in a Federal Disaster Declaration following the June 23 flood.
The flood’s devastation, though, will not be far from the minds of participants.
A toy drive at the Ripley Volunteer Fire Department is one of the scheduled events, according to Mike Ruben, director of the Ripley Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“They’re asking children from the communities to select toys, whether it be a new toy or a slightly used toy, that they would like to share with someone in West Virginia who was affected by the recent flooding,” Ruben told WMOV Radio in Ravenswood, a MetroNews affiliate.
The toy collection gets started at 9 a.m. Monday with the Little Patriots Hour for kids on the lawn of the Jackson County Courthouse featuring Batman and Batgirl.
Ruben said the idea came from one of the superheroes. “I think it’s a fantastic program and our hats off to Batman for putting that together,” Ruben said.
The opening ceremony begins at 10 a.m. Monday with remarks from U.S. District Judge Joseph Robert Goodwin, a Ripley native and grand marshal of Ripley’s July 4th parade which steps off at 12 p.m.
“It’s the largest patriotic parade in the state of West Virginia,” according to Ruben.
Ripley’s fireworks begin at 10 p.m.
A donation from Constellium along with grant money from the Jackson County Community Foundation is helping fund the fireworks from Premier Pyrotechnics.
Because of that funding assistance, “This will be the largest fireworks display that we have had in the history of the 4th of July celebration in Ripley,” Ruben predicted.
Here is the full schedule of events for Ripley’s Independence Day:
Monday, July 4
9 a.m. Little Patriots Hour with Batman & Batgirl
10 a.m. Opening ceremonies with Judge Joe Bob Goodwin
11 a.m. Jackson County Children’s Chorus
11:30 a.m. Firecracker Two-Miler
Noon Grand Parade
2 p.m. Jackson County Showcase with Corey Hager
4 p.m. Hogan’s Goat
6 p.m. South of the River
8 p.m. The Fabulous Hubcaps
10 p.m. Fireworks
For more information, click here.
The Independence Day activities got started last Wednesday in Ripley and ran through the weekend.
In the hardest hit parts of West Virginia, July 4th events were canceled for 2016 as flood recovery efforts continued.