In the spirit of free market and small government – here is an Independence Day celebration we can all be proud of.
Pamlico County celebrates this patriotic 
holiday with the Croaker Festival, named after a native fish, in the town of Oriental. Since the first festival on July 4th, 1980, the Oriental Women’s Club has put on the event complete with a fishing contest. Every year volunteers with NO taxpayer dollars have organized and carried out the entire parade and other celebratory activities – even the expensive fireworks display on Saturday night.
One county commissioner told me that for the past 16 years they have drafted family and friends to help with activities, and has purchased thousands of American made American flags to hand out to spectators before the parade.
So if you are need of some great family fun, which you can be sure tax dollars didn’t pay for – check out the Croaker Festival this weekend. This is the way the founding fathers envisioned how we should celebrate – a spontaneous, heartfelt, voluntary and privately funded celebration.
