Come early, play, eat and stay late! On Saturday, June 30, the City of Alcoa’s FreedomFest 2007 will be celebrating 31 years of festive family entertainment by offering event goers new and expanded activities at the earlier start time of 1:00 p.m.

A new edition to FreedomFest is a special activity area just for teens and young adults. The teen area will be located in the park between Springbrook Pool and the Alcoa Duck Pond. This area will feature Party Train’s mobile laser tag center that features the music from video game Halo 2 with the capacity of four people playing at each game. Also featured are a mechanical bull and baseball speed pitch from Awesome Party Rentals. Charter Media will team up with local video gaming retailer Game Haven to host the Charter Chill Zone for teens to cool off and play video games. Game Haven will present store gift cards to the day’s high scoring players. Fastrack Entertainment will bring the speed of NASCAR to FreedomFest with its customized remote controlled NASCAR stock cars racing on an oval speedway track with scale speeds of 200 mph. It’s the ultimate interactive, audience participation experience! Additionally, a water balloon launching game called Water Wars from North Carolina will also be in the teen area. Lastly, the U.S. Army Recruiting Station from Alcoa will hold an activity area featuring a Humvee display, inflatable GI Johnny and more.

Another feature of the teen area will be the presence of the Tennessee Army National Guard. The Army Aviation Support Facility # 2 will have an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter on static display from 1:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. The Warrior, used for advance reconnaissance supporting ground and air missions, is armed for self-defense with a 50-caliber machine gun on one side and either a 7-shot rocket pod or a hellfire missile on the other side.

Children’s activities will be held at the portion of Springbrook Park closest to the First United Methodist Church of Alcoa between Springbrook Road and Darwin Street. Activities will include Knox Rocks, a 32-foot tall, four-sided climbing wall for children of all ages. Activities from Awesome Party Rentals will include a Moonwalk, Bungee Run, Super Turbo Slide, Obstacle Course, Jousting, Water Slip ‘n Slide, Alley Ball, Putt-Putt and Tub of Fun. The children’s area, sponsored by Charter Media, will also be the site of the Discovery, DIY, Oxygen, Weather, and Fox Network channels with various children activities. An art center with patriotic murals, paintable car, play area, sand pile, and face painters Kelly Mules and Scott Axley will all be located in the park. A new addition to the children’s area this year will be a special Knoxville Zoo ZooMobile program from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

The parking lot of First United Methodist Church of Alcoa will be the site of FreedomFest’s second annual Car Show cruise-in. The cruise-in will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Spaces for participants are on a first come, first serve basis.

FreedomFest’s second annual arts and crafts area will also be located in Springbrook Park near the corner of Springbrook Road and Faraday Street.

The Alcoa Duck Pond parking lot will be the location of the live performing stage. A Pair of Jacks will open the performances singing a mixture of gospel, country, rock, and other genres at 4:00 p.m. Anonda Dance Company will perform at 5:15 p.m. At 6:00 p.m. a Steel Drum Band from Chattanooga, Tennessee will bring sounds from the Caribbean to FreedomFest.

The feature entertainment, beginning a 7:30 p.m. will be local band, Smooth Groove. This dynamic group of musicians and entertainers got together almost two years ago, but their combined musical experience far exceeds two years. Each member has played, sung and performed with different groups since the late sixties. Their repertoire of musical selections reflects the great sounds from the past forty years. The smooth music of the Temptations, Earth, Wind, and Fire, the cool of Hall & Oats and the funk of Sly Stone are just a few of the artists you will enjoy remembering.

A wide variety of food will be available with 24 food vendors present. Food vendors and a sampling of their menus include:

B & D Concessions – homemade ice cream made in a 1939 Maytag ringer washer

Mother Shuckers - char-burgers, hand-dipped corn dogs, French fries, Italian sausage

Gus’s Restaurant – steak and garden burgers, nachos, smoothies

Original Hawaiian Shaved Ice – shaved ice

Penny’s Candy Wagon – cotton candy, carmel and candied apples

Texas Roadhouse – sirloin steak sandwiches, ribs and chicken critters

Bob’s Best Italian Burgers – Italian hamburgers, Zeppoli

Country Kettle Korn – kettle korn, cotton candy

Brittany’s Bridal – meatball, honey ham and turkey subs, grilled kiabalsa

Tennessee Subs and More – sausage subs, chicken strip basket, Monto Cristo basket

Gelato Jo’s – Italian ice

An Awesome Party Rental – bbq, hamburgers, nachos

Shabby Allie’s – funnel cakes, elephant ears, polish sausage, buffalo wings, blooming onion

Rustic Munchies Delights – kettle korn, fresh squeezed lemonade, funnel cakes

Repieci’s Italian Ice – Italian ice

Dino’s Concessions – Cotton candy, candy and caramel apples, popcorn, nachos

Alcoa Rotary Club – Mayfield ice cream sandwiches

Just Squeezed Juice – fresh squeezed lemonade

Donald Parrott – cotton candy, soft drinks, popcorn, nachos, novelty items

Burton’s Hot Corn on Wheels – roasted corn, drinks

Smokey Thomas – hamburgers, hot dogs, cheeseburgers

Bread of Heaven – pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs, rib sandwiches

AJ’s Concessions – funnel cakes, frozen chocolate dipped bananas and cheesecake,

Mikes’ Hawaiian Ice – Hawaiian shaved ice

Journal Broadcasting stations 93.1 The Point, Star 102.1 and Hot 104.5 will be also present. Hot 104.5 will add its “beat of Knoxville” music to the Springbrook Pool activities that begin at 11:00 a.m. and end when the pool closes at 4:00 p.m. Admission to the pool will be the regular price. Events will include contests, relays, prizes and much more. All vehicles must be removed from the pool parking lot at 4:00 p.m.

The fireworks will be another spectacular display presented by the City of Alcoa Fire Department and Pyro Shows. The fireworks program will include over 7,000 shells sized from 1” to 8”. This will be the seventh year that the fireworks show has been specially choreographed. To enhance their beauty and drama, individual fireworks are synchronized to specific elements in the music creating dramatic scenes that defy the imagination. This year’s theme will be patriotic. The music will be broadcast by 93.1 the Point, so everyone should bring a radio to fully enjoy the show.

The City of Alcoa will set up an information booth at the intersection of Springbrook Road and Faraday Street between the event venues. The booth will also serve those with lost and found items and anyone needing emergency medical assistance.

All entrances to Alcoa Elementary School will be barricaded and closed to the public beginning at 7:00 a.m., Thursday morning, June 28th for event preparation. These areas will be closed to all traffic both motorized and pedestrian. Beginning at 8:00 a.m., Saturday, June 30, 2007, Faraday Street between Vose Road and Springbrook Road will be closed along with the Alcoa Duck Pond parking lot; Springbrook Road between Faraday and Edison Streets; Lodge Street between Faraday and Springbrook Road and the entrances to Alcoa Middle and High Schools. They will remain closed until no later than 8:00 a.m., Sunday, July 1, 2007.

Limited handicapped parking to view the event will be located at the end of the Alcoa Middle School parking lot and may be reached by entering the Faraday Street entrance to Alcoa High School then on to the middle school lot. Access to this handicapped area is on a first come basis. Bicycles, skateboards and skates will not be allowed in the event area. Fireworks, except those handled by the Alcoa Fire Department, are also prohibited from being in the event area.

Event attendees should also avoid bringing pets and animals, other than animals used for the vision impaired. Dogs and other animals can be sensitive to the noise of fireworks and can disturb other event attendees.

Concerning public safety, the Alcoa Fire and Police Departments will utilize the 16-county, Region 2 mobile command unit for the first time in FreedomFest history. This command unit will serve as an incident command post for emergencies and overall event management. The unit includes cameras, a 911 dispatcher, command staff, site mapping technology and communications systems to oversee the event and help direct key personnel to needed areas. Serving all of East Tennessee, the mobile command unit is categorized as a homeland security vehicle. This new addition to FreedomFest will help manage operations and communications for a fun and safe event.

City Manager Mark Johnson said, “Expanding the hours and moving into the park allows us to offer so much more for everyone to enjoy. The City is looking forward to hosting the expanded and still free event. I encourage everyone to come early to take part in all the activities. Come early, play, eat and stay late.”

The rain date will be Sunday, July 1, 2007. The pool party and fireworks will be the only activities taking place on this date. All other activities, including food vending, will be cancelled.