Show goes on despite rain

Rain, rain go away. That's what many people were likely thinking Saturday as they prepared food to grill out and fireworks to shoot off in celebration of Independence Day.

Mother Nature rained on Seymour's Fourth of July Celebration at Shields Parks, but it did not keep people away.

Many area residents gathered at the park with friends, family and people just looking for something to do.

 That included meeting under the shelter house to hear This Old Guitar Band, featuring Mike Gerth Originals and Tommy Day.

Deborah Ralston, Seymour, a former teacher at Seymour High School, came with her husband, Charlie, to listen to the music.

"I remember Mike when he was in high school, we had him in the talent show one year," she said trying to recall the date, thinking 1976 or 1977. "Tommy was our next-door neighbor. I remember him singing ‘Do You Want to Dance' when he was about 2 years old."

T.O.G. kept toes tapping, heads bobbing and people singing older songs that everyone seemed to know.

"All of these songs are good songs that we remember when we were young," Charlie said.

Ric Temple of Seymour was hanging out with family members of the T.O.G. band.

"I came out because This Old Guitar Band was planned and it's part of Seymour's festivities," he said. "This is a great band."

While the rain didn't keep the music from stopping, it also didn't keep people from grilling out, either. One family brought their cookout to the park so they could enjoy the free entertainment while spending time with their families.

"We had it planned to cook out all week," said Tracey Seniours of Seymour.

"Everybody said, it's going to rain, but we said, ‘we don't care, we are still going to cook out,' and we knew Music in the Park was today," Seniours added.

The rain, however, was nothing new for T.O.G. and Seymour's Music in the Park.

"We have played here every year for four years and it has rained every year except for one," Larry McDonald of the band said while taking a break Saturday afternoon.

While the band may have a bad running streak for playing during the rain, no one seemed to mind.

Everyone was just glad to be able to celebrate Independence Day and the freedom that comes with it.

"It's the roots of America's freedom," Temple said of what the Fourth of July means to him. "That's what it's really about."

"I think we have to remember where we came from, and Independence Day means that not only we celebrate our country, but that we have freedom of religion in our country," Deborah Ralston added.

Thankful for freedom, many thought about those who have served or are serving with the U.S. military.

"I just remember the veterans," Charlie Ralston said. "My dad was a World War II veteran."

The Fourth of July celebration was scheduled to end with a bang at the annual fireworks display at Freeman Field. However, rain forced the city to reschedule that to Sunday night.

The fireworks were sponsored by Schwarz Pharmaceuticals (UCB), Coca-Cola and Seymour Department of Parks and Recreation.

The parks department also closed the Shields Park pool Saturday because of the weather.