Egg drop, fireworks round out evening of family events

If summer’s at its halfway point (and it is), then it must be time for Parma’s annual summer celebration – "Park It In Parma." Set for Saturday, August 4, the free event offers plenty of family activities culminating with a giant fireworks display. All the events will be held at the Parma Town Park at 1300 Hilton Parma Corners Road.

New this year will be the "World’s Largest Egg Drop" by children participating in the Hilton-Parma Recreation Summer Playground. The children have been working all summer to construct a giant chicken made of foam, paper mache and plenty of duct tape in which an egg will be placed. At 7 p.m., a crane will elevate the chicken to 70 feet and drop it. If the egg survives, the mission will be considered a success. Either way, it’s sure to be plenty of fun for the kids and spectators. The egg drop is being made possible with funding from the Rochester/Monroe County Youth Bureau’s Youth Initiative Project.

Following the egg drop will be a short ceremony and ribbon cutting for the new addition to the Saturn playground, which is just part of the town park expansion currently underway. In addition to representatives from the Saturn Corporation, which donated funds to expand the playground, area politicians will be on hand, including Senator George Maziarz, Assemblyman Charles Nesbitt, and Monroe County Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn.

Also new this year will be arts and crafts booths beginning at 3 p.m. There’s still time for local crafters to reserve space. Call Hilton-Parma Recreation at 392-9030 for information.

Returning will be the Annual Monroe County Pole Vault Competition from 5:30 to 7 p.m. This is the fifth year pole vaulters from around the county have competed at the Parma event and it’s always an amazing competition to watch.

Also returning will be Mercy Flight, which will land its helicopter in the park early in the evening so visitors can take a look inside and learn more about the program.

Musical entertainment will be provided by The Blues Family Rhythm and Blues Revue, which played at last year’s Hilton Apple Fest. "We booked the group right after the Apple Fest because we heard how much people enjoyed the music," said Steve Fowler, Hilton-Parma Recreation director. The band will play from 7:30 to 11 p.m.

Of course, what would a celebration be without food? In addition to the ever-popular chicken barbecue provided by the Hilton Lioness group, there will be an expanded variety of food booths due to the success of last year’s event. Food booths will open at 4 p.m.

All of the facilities and amenities offered at the park will be available for use during the celebration. In addition, families can camp at the park again this year and have a front row seat for the fireworks display. However, reservations are required, so call the Recreation office for more details.

The most popular event at the town’s celebration is always the fireworks display and this year, Fowler said, it will be better than ever. Conducted by Young Explosives Corp., the display will feature a huge Golden Brocade Kamura. Fowler encourages those attending to come early as the fireworks always draws a big crowd.