Once again, the area around Emmitsburg's Community Park will reverberate with the sounds of fun, family, food, and fireworks. The Lion's Club 26th Annual Emmitsburg Community Day celebration will be held from dawn until after the fireworks display on Saturday, June 28. All events are free and open to the public.

As a special celebration this year, the Emmitsburg Lions are honoring the Bicentennial of Mount Saint Mary's University. The 'town and gown' relationship has been a vital part of both, so the Lions are pleased to welcome the Mount President, Thomas H. Powell, as the Keynote Speaker at the evening's festivities. He will also serve as co-marshal of the parade, along with Father Vincent O'Malley and Mayor Jim Hoover.

To get people in the mood for the celebration, the Emmitsburg Community Chorus will hold a concert at the new Community Park bandstand on Friday, June 27, from 7 - 9 pm. For those who want to learn more about Emmitsburg and the Civil War, John Miller, Emmitsburg Historical Society, will be giving a walking tour of town, replete with history lessons and stories. The tour will start at 7 pm at the Emmitsburg Community Center.

Following tradition, Emmitsburg Community Day will begin the next day at 6:30 am with breakfast served by the Vigilant Hose Company Auxiliary at the Fire Hall on West Main Street. Breakfast is sausage, bacon, creamed chipped beef, pancakes, eggs, home fries, coffee and juice. (The buzz on Main Street is that President Powell may help serve breakfast!)

The games begin at 10 am. Traditional games include tug of war, egg toss (raw), three-legged race, balloon toss, watermelon eating contest, pie-eating contest, and a fishing game. The games include plenty of opportunities for the young-at-heart, as well as the just-plain-young, to participate.

Music by the Yellow Springs Concert Band can be enjoyed from 11 am - 1 pm. The band is known for its patriotic and service tunes, marches, and polkas. Last year, they had plenty of people tapping their feet and clapping as they played.

Emmitsburg Lions' chicken barbecue dinners will be available beginning at 10 am until the dinners are all sold out (get yours early). Soft drinks and spring water will be available all day. Hot dogs, hamburgers, and homemade ice cream sandwiches will be available until 10 pm. As a new treat this year, snow cones will also be sold! Yum.

Closest to the pin (golf) and horseshoes allow the adults to partake in some friendly competition. Registration for horseshoes will close at 12:45 pm and the content itself will begin at 1 pm. From 2 - 4 pm, the closest to the pin golf contest will be held, with cash prizes. For those who like cash prizes, the Ambulance Company will be running bingo games from 11 am until 5 pm.

For those who want to know more about Emmitsburg, Mike Hillman of the Historical Society will be giving two walking tours that focus on the history of the Great Fire of 1863 that occurred two weeks prior to the Battle of Gettysburg. The tours begin at the parking lot of Elias Lutheran church at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. For more information about these tours, write to history@emmitsburg.net.

Generations of small-town Americans have enjoyed community parades since their towns were mere villages. In that tradition, the Community Day parade will begin at 6 pm. Staging will be on Provincial Parkway in Northgate and the route will travel on North Seton to DePaul, Federal Avenue, and East Main Street to the Square before turning on South Seton and ending at the Community Center.

The Evening Program will begin right after the parade ends. Following the program, Roll the Dice will play tunes suitable for singing along, dancing, or just listening until 9:30 pm. Finally, the fireworks display will cap off the evening. The fireworks are sponsored by individuals, groups, civic organizations, and local businesses through their generous donations to the Community Day fun. If you would like to make a contribution, please mail to Emmitsburg Lions Club, PO Box 1182, Emmitsburg, MD 21727. Mark your donation for the Community Day fund.

We look forward to seeing you there.