Habersham County officially got its post-COVID celebration launched Sunday night, as patrons returned in force to Demorest Springs Park to enjoy Glorious Fourth festivities.
Demorest provided a concert from Habersham County natives Gregg Erwin and John King that rocked the park and set the tone for the fireworks extravaganza to follow.
King drove all night from a show in Ohio to perform for the home folks, and he said he was running on pure adrenaline to keep things rocking.
“I don’t get nervous anymore when I perform, but I get nervous here because y’all are my family and friends I grew up with,” King said. “This is better than the Grand Ole Opry or a big arena. I love y’all.”
Demorest Mayor Rick Austin welcomed everyone and commented about how great it was to be back celebrating together and
enjoying our independence.
“It was great to see our community unite together to celebrate our Independence, especially coming out of the constraints that we all faced with COVID,” Austin said.
Georgia Rep. Victor Anderson led the Pledge of Allegiance before King’s show began.
When it got dark, the patrons started the walk up the hill toward Concord Baptist Church, where the fireworks were shot from the ball field in the back.
After getting negative feedback about the fireworks show in 2019, Demorest City Council went all out this year, putting $35,000 in for the pyrotechnics and concerts to reestablish the city as the home of the Fourth of July in Habersham County.
Councilman Nathan Davis said he heard lots of positive feedback about the concert and a mixed bag on the fireworks, with most liking the show itself but others saying they were hard to see from some locations. There also was another group south of town shooting professional-grade fireworks sporadically during King’s concert that confused some patrons about whether the actual show had begun.
“I think that confused people a little, but things like this were my fear when we kind of threw this together at the last minute,” Davis said. “Next year, we will try to find another location that is best for everyone. I think the most important thing is that we had a celebration and that was what most folks took away from it.”