America 250 Celebrations Continue In Bethel

The Bethel community came together to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary in a town wide event that continued late into the evening even through rain.

“I think it's exciting to see our community come together in celebration of something so important to our history,” said Rebecca Brock, who ran the scavenger hunt booth as part of the event at Burke Park. “I love seeing how much it means to the kids in our community.”

Bethel’s America 250 celebration involved a wide array of entertainment such as historical impersonators, live music, and contests including a pickleball tournament and beard competition. There were booths, vendors, a petting zoo, a cow train, a face paint artist, and much more.

Many residents of Bethel expressed they felt a strong sense of community while celebrating America’s 250th birthday on July 11.

“Even if you disagree with your neighbors about the state of things, you can still come together and celebrate as a community,” said resident Markie Planck.

In the early afternoon heavy rain forced some attractions to shut down, but the residents of Bethel were not to be deterred from the celebration. 

“The Cincinnati circus performers were here,” said Holly Isaacs. While some of the circus performances could go on as planned, Isaacs said the stilt walkers couldn’t participate because of the weather.  

Planck went home to wait out the worst of the rain with her family, but once the rain stopped they went right back to celebrating.

“Everyone made the best out of a bad situation, it was pouring rain and people were dancing in the street,” Isaacs said. “They were doing the cha cha slide and the wobble, they didn’t care. These kids were amazing.”

Photo courtesy Bethel America 250 Committee