The Boone County Republican Women’s Club and the Boone County GOP will host the first Freedom Fest from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. July 15 at the Zionsville Lions Park.
Admission is free. Drinks and food will be available for purchase. There will be a kids zone, family games, live music and opportunities to meet local political candidates. Alcoholic beverages will be served on an adjoining property, sponsored by Klooz Brewz.
Anna Schappaugh, chair of the campaign committee for the Boone County Republican Women’s Club, said Freedom Fest is an event for everyone to celebrate freedom in the U.S.
“One thing that unites everybody right now, despite what your political affiliation is or what your beliefs are, is we all love freedom, and we want a life where we can have the freedoms that were designed for us to have,” Schappaugh said. “(Freedom Fest is) just a get-together with friends to celebrate freedom around the Fourth of July. It’s a backyard barbecue. Just come, kick back, relax and celebrate our country and celebrate our freedom.”
Schappaugh said Freedom Fest differs from other events the club has presented because it is family friendly.
“There’s not always a lot of affiliation with children and politics,” Schappaugh said. “But for the first time, we’re having an event that’s family friendly because we think that family values are important. And at the center of what’s best about our country is the family. So, we want kids to come and be inspired as well.”
Schappaugh said to incorporate the younger generation into the festival, an 8-year-old named Olive will sing the national anthem.
A Young Republicans club also will be launched, which will be announced at the festival. Schappaugh said the founding members will come up on stage and talk about what they’re looking to accomplish and more information about the club.
“The most special thing is that you’re looking at different generations of people,” Schappaugh said. “Seeing that we can all play a different purpose and hopefully inspire multiple generations of people to kind of get more involved and be a part of this.”
Debbie Ottinger, Boone County chair, said the event was made possible because of the county GOP.
“This is the Republican event of the summer,” Ottinger said. “You won’t want to miss this. Bring your family and friends to celebrate freedom.”
For more about Freedom Fest, visit facebook.com/events/926826488654689/.
