Troy festival unites a community

It’s nearly time to celebrate the Fourth of July. Hot dogs are flying off the shelf. People are running to purchase fireworks to light up the sky. People are getting their red, white and blue apparel ready. The sense of patriotism is in the air.

For the people of Lincoln County it’s time to head to Troy to partake in the city’s Old Fashioned Fourth of July event. The event is regarded by many to be the highlight of Lincoln County’s summer event season.

Jody Peterson, a Troy resident, has been helping plan and coordinate the event for 10 years.

“It’s a lot of time and effort to plan the event, but it’s a good time,” Peterson said. “We’ve been planning and preparing for the event since March.”

The event will kick off at 9 a.m. with a 5K color run. A breakfast will be held from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. The food vendors will also be opening at 9 a.m.

“The food vendors are amazing. We have everything you can imagine,” Peterson said. “Coldstone Ice Cream will be dishing up ice cream. The Knights of Columbus will be serving pulled pork. Young Guns will be serving up slices of pizza.”

An information booth will open at 9 a.m. and will be selling T-shirts for this year’s celebration. The beer garden will be open all day for those who are thirsting for a cold brew.

There will be large assembly of arts and crafts vendors at the park.

“We have a lot of great arts and craft vendors,” Peterson said. “There usually are over 50 vendors that come to town. There are a lot of cool products that will be for sale.”

The parade will start at 11 a.m. and be followed by a disc golf tournament. For the car lovers in the family, the car show will start at noon and end at 3 p.m.

The fireworks show will light up the sky and will start at dusk.

“Our fireworks are done by the awesome Troy Fire Department,” Peterson said. “Each year we have a donation pot for people to donate money. The more we get, the more fireworks we get. The community does a great job of helping out and it’s always a good show.”

Troy Mayor Darren Coldwell said the community raises an average of approximately $10,000 per year for the fireworks display.

Fireworks, hot dogs and the red, white and blue are synonymous with Independence Day, but Peterson thinks it’s a tie between all the food vendors and the live music for the most popular event.

“It’s a toss up between the food vendors and the live music. There will be live music playing throughout the day,” she said.

Peterson appreciates the volunteers and the vendors that sacrifice their time to help make it such a great event.

“The volunteers and all the food and arts and craft vendors are appreciated,” she said. “They sacrifice their time and their 4th of July to sit in the heat.”

All those vendors will be getting reinforcements this year. The local 4-H kids will be volunteering their time to help the vendors. “It will be nice for the vendors to get a little break,” Peterson said.

All the events will take place at Roosevelt Park, which offers participants views of the Kootenai River while they enjoy the festivities. It’s an event that offers something for every member of the family.

“Roosevelt Park is a beautiful setting for the event. It’s right down by the river and it’s just a great place to celebrate the 4th of July,” Peterson said. “It’s always a huge event that brings a large crowd to town.”

Darren Coldwell, the Mayor of Troy believes it’s such a popular event because it offers something for all age levels and each member of the family.

“It’s just a good family day. There is the parade, lots of food, live music, the car show and it all ends with the fireworks,” he said.  “There are always family reunions and class reunions that happen during the Fourth of July celebration. It’s just a great day for the community to come together and have a good time.”