CHARLOTTE — There was a lot of family, faith in America, and excitement this Fourth of July at Romare Bearden Park.
“Yeah, it’s so much fun, especially seeing the magic on the faces of those who are really young,” said Aidan Conway who was in Uptown. “It’s so cute to watch them see us for the first time.”
The event started around 4 p.m. and even though the temperature was blistering, that didn’t stop William Farthing from coming early.
“It’s been a little bit on the toasty side, got myself a couple of things to drink before I came down here and just kind of chilled out and relaxed,” Farthing said.
There was a heavy security presence. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Juvenile Priority Offender Strategy Team was out hitting the streets before the event started. They talked to the parents of teens who have gotten in trouble before, reminding them about the city curfew and not to come uptown and make trouble.
The entertainment was multicultural. The SHAE Movement African Arts was one of the groups that performed music and dance from West Africa.
“Things change, things process,” said Niche Faulkner with the group. “We’ve become, like, more advanced, but we want to make sure that we know where we came from, no matter how far advanced we get.”
Italian ice from Sunset Slush Italian Ice of Charlotte was a hot item at the park on Saturday, all in the spirit of celebrating America 250.
“We’re high in the sky, as you can see, sharing all the patriotic love and joy to all the people who are here in this park today who we are celebrating,” Conway said.
Channel 9 checked in with firefighters, and they told us they had not responded to any heat related issues during Saturday’s celebrations.