Coffeeville Makes Plans To Celebrate 175th Birthday
Colorful new banners have been strategically placed in Coffeeville, adding excitement to the upcoming birthday celebration.
With the 175th birthday celebration only weeks away, a new bandstand has been constructed in Coffeeville on Front Street to help celebrate the important milestone. – Photos by Jack Gurner
By Jack Gurner
Reporter
COFFEEVILLE – What would a birthday be without a celebration and the folks in Coffeeville are planning a doozy on Oct. 3 for the town’s 175th birthday.
“We looking for it to be a major event,” said Tyler Wortham, Director of the Coffeeville Chamber of Commerce. “Not just for us, but for the whole county.”
The daylong Saturday event starts at 9 a.m. and will end at midnight, he added.
Among the events is General Coffee’s Car, Truck, and Bike Show. “Front Street will be blocked off from one end to the other. The cars will be displayed there,” Wortham said. “We expect to have over a hundred entrants.”
There will also be live entertainment throughout the day on the town’s new bandstand. “We decided to build a permanent structure and make it where it could be used for multiple purposes, not just for the bandstand,” Wortham said.
Running simultaneously will be a combined 1940 through 1970 class reunion at the county’s multipurpose building on Hwy. 7. Around 200-250 people are expected to attend.
Among other events will be a quilt show, inflatables for the kids, and arts and crafts vendors. The celebration will conclude with a street dance featuring the Crackerjacks, and oldies-but-goodies band from Greenwood that also plays some modern tunes.
“We’re looking for a big turnout,” Wortham said. “This might evolve into an annual event of some kind.”
Along with the new bandstand, there have been other preparations for the celebration. “We’ve had a bunch of improvements. Our town’s people have gotten behind it. They’re working on a little facelift.”
Some of the work is part of ongoing projects that started before the planning of the event. “We’ve put out new garbage containers and put benches around town,’ Wortham added. “Just trying to make the place look better.”
Additionally 15 red “Celebrate Coffeeville” banners have been added to the green ones already in place on the town’s utility poles.
“We did a lot of planning on what we were going to do and how we were going to do it. Things have kind of come together for us,” Wortham said.
For more information, contact the Coffeeville Chamber of Commerce at Coffeeville@bellsouth.net or 662-675-8385.
