Family fun and excitement is the point at 5 p.m. Saturday when the Newcastle Red White & Blue Fest 2024 gets underway at Veterans Park. City Parks and Recreation Director Kyle Marks said several events including live music, kids games, pony rides, a petting zoo, inflatables, food trucks, and approximately 52 vendors will be set up for area residents.
The City of Newcastle is also sponsoring a rock, paper, scissors tournament. Marks said when people show up, they’ll receive beads of either red, silver, gold or blue.
“If you are wearing red beads, you’ll challenge someone else with red beads to a best-of-three rock, paper, scissors contest. The winner gets their opponent’s beads,” Marks said. “At the end of the night all those who still have beads will be invited up to the stage. If there are multiple people with the same color of beads, they’ll face off until only one remains.”
Marks said the four remaining colored bead champions will come to the stage and challenge each other to a double elimination winner-take-all. He said the winner will receive a rock, paper, scissors champion trophy and a basket of goodies.
Drive returns to the stage to perform a wide range of music spanning the decades. According to their website, Drive is a five-piece high energy band that performs dance, pop, rock, hip-hop, rap, country and Red Dirt.
Several food trucks will also be on site to please your palate.
Marks said there will be face painting, light-up toys, a Fraternal Order of Police dunk tank to raise money for the Newcastle Cops & Kids program, all types of crafts, cooked items and goodies, and civic and school fundraising activities. Marks said the Splash Pad will also be open.
The Newcastle Chamber of Commerce is partnering with Parks and Recreation to hand out a limited number of glow sticks, and stress balls. Marks said a limited number of foam light-up toys will also be given out, and red, white and blue T-shirts sponsored by local businesses will be tossed from the stage throughout the evening.
Fireworks will be shot off at 9:45 p.m. Marks said this year’s show, shot by Rainbow Pyrotechnics, will be bigger than last year — the biggest one Newcastle has had.
“We upped the ante on this one,” Marks said. “We’re throwing in some big shells, and the entire show will be 15 minutes of fireworks.”
Marks reminds attendees that no personal fireworks are permitted at Veterans Park.
Sponsors for the Newcastle Red White & Blue Fest 2024 include the following: Pioneer, The First National Bank & Trust Co., Newcastle Casino, Triton Foundation Repair, OEC Fiber, Community Bank of Oklahoma, Norman Regional Health System, Oklahoma Natural Gas, Scooter’s Coffee, Mosquito Jo, Focus Federal Credit Union, Physical Therapy Central, Tinker Federal Credit Union, and Country Financial.
A rain date has been announced as same times on Saturday, July 6 at Veterans Park.
