THREE PREMIER SUMMER EVENT LEADERS:
The Making of Successful Events
Written By Jordan Rosenfeld
M
Jeff Dixon
organ Hill loves to celebrate Independence Day
on the Fourth of July. There’s the signature parade
of multiple generations of Morgan Hill residents,
from the very young to the most senior among us, making
their way through downtown in red, white and blue regalia.
There’s the powerful boom of massive fi reworks exploding
overhead at the Morgan Hill Outdoor Sports Center on Condit
Road, and so much more.
In fact, celebrating Independence Day “is part of recorded
history that goes as far as 1876,” according to Jeff Dixon,
President of Independence Day Celebration Inc. (IDC), the
nonprofit that puts on the Freedom Fest and its many related
events each year.
It’s no surprise to Dixon that there’s so much volunteer love
in the community.
“Morgan Hill is a tight-knit community, making it feel more
small town than it actually is,” Dixon said.
Independence Day was hosted by a variety of organizations
over the years, including the city,” Dixon explained. “When
the city stopped doing it, the Chamber of Commerce took
over in the 80s.”
As of 1999, IDC formed, and in 2011, it morphed into its
current organizational structure comprised of six volunteer
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GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
board members and one paid professional. IDC puts on seven
events between July 3 rd and July 4th every year.
Dixon said that the board “is a patriotic group for sure,
with a high appreciation of the freedoms we have in America.”
He also said they are very community minded and believe in
“a high standard of American values.”
This year’s theme for the festival is “Songs that America
Sings.”
On July 3rd, the Freedom Fest events kick off at 6 pm with
the Patriotic Sing, a Morgan Hill tradition that began in the
late 1980s, at the Morgan Hill Amphitheater at the Morgan
Hill Community & Cultural Center. It’s run by Morgan Hill’s
2019 Woman of the Year, Karen Crane. Crane, who teaches
in the Morgan Hill Unified School District, brings together
approximately 150 children for patriotic songs, as she has
been for the past thirty years. During rehearsals, the singers
bring donations for our US military troops, which are then
packaged and sent to the troops with notes of encouragement
by the South Bay Chapter of Blue Star Moms.
This is followed by the Family Music Fest that evening,
a downtown street dance, with food and beverages for the
community.
Early on the morning of the 4th, motivated athletes can
don their running garb at 6:45 am for the Freedom Run 5K,
which takes place in honor of military veterans. Fundraising
Chair Charles Weston, a local architect and long-time running
enthusiast, oversees the run with the support of Treasurer Kim
Moyano and Kathleen Davis, Vice President of Operations.
If jogging it out on the roads isn’t quite your thing, inter-
ested viewers can stop to admire vintage cars as part of the
Car Cruise and Show that begins at 9 am.
That leads up to the star of the show, the Fourth of July
Parade, from 10 am to 12 pm, followed by a car show until
3 pm.
The jewel of the celebration, however, is the Fireworks on
the Green, with professional fireworks put on by Fireworks
of America. The Morgan Hill Outdoor Sports Center opens
as early as 3 pm, where participants can take advantage of
food and beverages. Entertainment begins with two head-
liner bands at 6 pm, The Usual Suspects and The Cocktail
Monkeys.
“This year we’ll have tighter security…[related to]serving
beer and wine,” Dixon said. There will be a gate check to
prevent any outside beverages from coming in.
Dixon said he’s proud “that we have made a community-
based, all volunteer organization into what it is. Even though
it’s all volunteer, we really do a professional job.”
The group is always looking for interested volunteers,
Dixon said. “It only keeps going when people stay involved.
It’s a fun group and an honor to put this on for our
neighbors.”
june/july 2019
gmhtoday.com