Crowds gather for music, parade, fireworks finale

By Beth Sergent

For Mason County Extra Edition

POINT PLEASANT — This year’s Liberty Fest wrapped up on Tuesday night with, as promised by the City of Point Pleasant, a “gigantic” fireworks display along the Ohio River.

Crowds packed into Riverfront Park following the annual parade to take in free performances from Jesse Crawford, and Flatrock Revival, prior to the fireworks. Liberty Fest also provided bounce houses, with face painting also available for children. Several food and merchant vendors were set up on Fourth Street and within the park, as well.

Tuesday evening, Mayor Brian Billings welcomed festivalgoers on behalf of himself, city administration and city council.

Billings also took a moment to recognize the partnership between the City of Point Pleasant and Amherst Madison, the latter of which provides the barge for the fireworks display. In addition, Billings said the company also assists the city throughout the year when needed and recognized this partnership’s past, present and future.

Brian Patterson, of Amherst Madison, accepted the city’s proclamation honoring the company. Billings also recognized Patterson’s individual efforts as a local point of contact for the city with the company. Billings noted Patterson is also involved in the Point Pleasant River Museum and Lakin Ray Cook Learning Center.  

Billings spoke with Mason County Extra Edition on Wednesday, stating, overall, he felt the festival was a success, which included free concerts on Friday with Blue Moves and The M.F.B. However, a storm abruptly ended Sunday’s Praise Along the River activities. Despite that setback, Billings said he would consult city council about possibly rescheduling that event for later this year, allowing speakers and performers to return to Riverfront Park to complete that service.

Billings added, he hopes Liberty Fest continues to grow into next year and beyond.

For more Liberty Fest photos and a video of Tuesday’s fireworks finale, check out Mason County Extra Edition’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/masoncountyextraedition. We welcome sharing of our posts and photos via social media, but request photo/video credit, and/or feel free to tag us, when sharing our work. This helps support the efforts of our volunteers and is much appreciated.

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Beth Sergent has nearly 20 years of experience in journalism, having worked as both a reporter and editor. She has a BLA in English from Marshall University, and a certificate in Technical Writing from Duke University. She is a lifelong resident of Point Pleasant, in Mason County.

(Editor’s Note on accessibility: Mason County Extra Edition attempts to use accessible fonts and alternative text for photographs, to be inclusive of all readers.)