World's largest cherry pie at 4th in George

GEORGE - The country's birthday will be celebrated with a parade, a fun run and the world's biggest cherry pie in the town named for the first president.

July 4 in George begins with breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m. at the George Community Hall, 403 W. Montmorency Blvd. The Georgettes will begin construction of the cherry pie at about 7 a.m. at the pie pavilion built by the Rotary.

"If you want to get technical, it's really a cobbler," said Debby Kooy, one of the organizers. The Georgettes pull out the eight-foot-square pie pan and add the pie filling and topping.

Registration for the Cherry Bomb Run begins at 7:30 a.m. in the George Community Park, with the run itself starting at 8 a.m. The run is in its 24th year, and usually attracts about 200 runners, Kooy said.

Registration and lineup for the annual July 4 parade begins at 9 a.m. at the parking lot of the old Martha Inn. "The Martha Inn is no longer in existence," Kooy said, but the sign and the parking lot are there, and that's where the parade begins at 10 a.m.

Members of the VFW post will raise the flag at 11 a.m.; the freedom bell is rung also, and 14-year-old Cydney Schaapman will sing the National Anthem. Matt Manweller, who's running for the state House of Representatives, will give a short speech.

The children's game booths open after the patriotic presentation. Sack races are among the games scheduled.

The Georgettes start serving cherry pie at noon; the pie weighs about a half-ton and serves more than 1,500 people, Kooy said. It's usually gone before 2 p.m., she said.

Entertainment goes on all afternoon and includes the Line Dancing Grannies, the Western swing group Jangles, the bluegrass group North Country and the rhythm and blues group the Darnell Scott Band, which takes the stage at 9 p.m. That's about when the fireworks begin.

The celebration dates back to the late 1950s, when the town first served pie. "We started that cherry pie in 1957," Kooy said. The celebration grew from that, she said.