BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Downtown Inez became one big hometown celebration Saturday as Freedom Fest marked America’s 250th anniversary with a full day of food, music, prayer, parades and fireworks.
The celebration started early with breakfast at the Masonic Lodge, pickleball, a 3-point shootout, a car show and a vendor market. At the Martin County Pool, swimmers cooled off for free, while a large group of ATV riders took to the hills for the Freedom Side x Side Ride.
Community leaders paused the day’s activities for prayer, a flag-dedication ceremony and the sealing of a 25-year community time capsule.
By evening, Main Street belonged to the Kiwanis Club’s annual Independence Day parade. Fire trucks, floats, Jeeps, tractors, mini bikes and off-road vehicles rolled through town under a wave of flags, bunting and red, white and blue.
The crowd then drifted to Court Street, where inflatables, food trucks, vendors and live music kept families downtown until dark. Children played, neighbors visited and the stage carried the celebration into the night.
Kyle Cornette, Jordan VanHoose, Hope and Brandon Lafferty, and the Lafferty Brothers Band — Chase Lafferty, Braxton Lafferty and special guest Lon Lafferty — performed on the Court Street stage.
At the county pool, Freedom Float night gave families another place to gather—and float—for the fireworks show.
When darkness settled over Inez, the Inez Volunteer Fire Department launched what organizers billed as the largest fireworks display in Martin County history from behind the Collier Center, closing Independence Day with color over the downtown hills.
