Greensboro Daily Photo

So Much Fun!

To continue with the joy experienced downtown yesterday, for the Fun Fourth, we share this water being sprayed by the fire department. They were set up at the corner of South Elm Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and children played and played in the water. We also noticed that, more often than not, the dads went in to help their toddlers brave the shower or to retrieve them. Some children wanted to play for extended periods of time and it was an opportunity to play nicely with new friends. It seems a bit ironic that we all hope so hard for it not to rain on the Fourth, yet delight in getting wet in a water feature. This is a Greensboro tradition. Free, carefree fun.

The photo below is a closer example of how much fun the children were having. Many companies and organizations made this event possible. Here is a list. If you get a chance, click through and tell those organizations how much Fun Fourth means to the community. If you are involved with an organization, maybe you can encourage them to sponsor a community event, like Fun Fourth or MUSEP.  

Fun Fourth, Indeed!

In downtown Greensboro, the weather cooperated and a good time was had by all at the Fun Fourth Festival. Most of Elm Street was open only to pedestrian traffic and people walked from north to south taking advantage of food and craft venues. Additionally, the brick and mortar businesses were open, welcoming customers with open arms. At Hamburger Square and at Gate City Boulevard, stages were in place and people enjoyed listening to music and dancing. 

The above photo features the 300 Block of South Elm Street. As you can see from the blue sky, the weather was perfect for the event. While a little warm (high 80s), the rains held off and all events were executed without complications. Especially enjoyable was the grand finale, fireworks at the baseball stadium. Greensboro formerly had the fireworks at the stadium at Grimsley High School, and then in the parking lot of the Coliseum. One year, they had them downtown, in front of the News & Record building. Now, they are held downtown, at the baseball stadium, providing plenty of free seating.  People seem to like the arrangement. 

However you spent your Fourth of July, we hope you had a nice day. If you are in the business world, you are likely back to work today and are well aware that July means we are in the third quarter of the calendar year. Pace yourself and try to enjoy the rest of summer. Our next national holiday will be Labor Day.

Happy Fourth of July 2017

Happy Fourth of July. It is a delightful holiday. Since the date is in the middle of the summer, many people celebrate it while on vacation. In North Carolina, going to the beach or the mountains for the Fourth is especially popular. As a result Greensboro can be pretty quiet. Yesterday, it seemed as if nobody were in town; possibly because the Fourth is on a Tuesday this year. 

If you are in Greensboro and want to see a grand neighborhood tradition, attend the Kirkwood neighborhood parade. The Kirkwood parade is 100% comprised of families from the neighborhood. It is a day when families are either in the front yard or in the street. Those who want a whole-community event should head downtown for Greensboro's Fun Forth from 1-8pm. It is billed as the largest Fourth of July festival in North Carolina. At 9pm, fireworks will go off at the baseball park- First National Bank Stadium. You can spend the whole day downtown and we encourage you to do so. Head to the Fun Fourth and you will quickly see that, in spite of your Facebook feed photos, you not the only person not at the beach!

The above photo was taken at Lowe's in their garden center. There weren't many flowers being sold the other day, but grills were flying out the door! By the way, after the Fourth, garden centers usually have drastic mark-downs.