Local governments and the North Carolina Fall Festival will celebrate the dedication of the new Freedom Park monument in downtown Raeford, and hold a remembrance ceremony September 11.
The park features a monument that includes copies of pages from the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. The “Charters of Freedom” monument is now installed at the corner of Main Street and East Central Avenue.
If the weather is good, the All-Veterans Parachute team with renowned skydiver Mike Elliott plans to jump in with flags to present for a flag-raising ceremony. The dedication and remembrance ceremony will feature music and a gun salute. The North Carolina Fall Festival holds a 9/11 remembrance ceremony each year.
The event is set for 10 a.m. Friday, September 11. The dedication and ceremony are open to the public. Attendees should wear a mask and follow social distancing guidelines.
The new parking lot for the park will be closed to traffic to provide the parachute team more room to maneuver. Attendees can find parking access on Main Street.
Raeford Hardware donated water for the event.
The “Charters of Freedom” project got its start around 10 years ago when Vance and Mary Jo Patterson of Morganton visited Washington, D.C. and were touched to get to visit historic documents on display at the National Archive. It made them realize that many Americans never get the opportunity to travel to the nation’s capital and have a similar experience.
In response, they created Foundation Forward with the goal of putting “Charters of Freedom” monuments, including replicas of those historic documents, in communities across the country. So far the nonprofit group has helped install the monuments in about 30 locations across the United States.
Hoke County commissioners became interested in bringing one of the monuments to the county last year after seeing materials about the nonprofit at a conference. The city of Raeford and Hoke County local government helped fund costs associated with installing the new Freedom Park monument.
For more information, contact Raeford-Hoke Economic Developer Will Wright at 875-6113.
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