From Johnna Prater
April 8th marked a great day in Royalton, Ky., as the third-annual Easter Festival took place at the Puncheon Battlefield Community Park in Half Mountain, KY. The event was hosted by the Royalton Community Council’s thirteen members: Karen Merritt, Marlene Howard, Johnna Arnett Prater, Lester Prater, Wittney Lovely, Janice Rowe, Clay Herd, Sherry Cooley Shepherd, Pam Lovely, Richard Rex Love, Whitney Love, Terry Miller, and Robert May. The event was a great success to say the least. The council’s six months of work and planning for this event was shown by the amount of community involvement and support that made this day possible. Many people, businesses and companies donated money, eggs, candy, food, and supplies to make this day, and everything included free to the public.
This beautiful park has become a gem in our county, with its vast open area, the new playground, stage, wonderful pavilion, and bathrooms. Our county judge/executive and his staff have worked so hard at developing and maintaining it for the community making it perfect for the two festivals that the RCC hosts each year. Most people who attended were amazed at how wonderful the park looked and how far it has come over the last 4 years. It is an honor and privilege for the RCC to utilize this unbelievable park for our festivals. We hope to add new functions to our calendar soon.
Over 500 people were in attendance for this wonderful celebration including people of every age and from all over our beautiful county and surrounding areas. The cold but sunny day kicked off at 11 a.m. with a prayer and then a 10,000 plus egg hunt that was divided into age groups. The day then progressed into a hot lunch, live music, activities, games, and prizes through 2 p.m.
Our Easter Bunny, Kevin Howard was in attendance all day and hopped his way through the crowd taking selfies with all who wanted and bringing a whole lot of smiles too. He never stopped for a minute entertaining and moving around until the last child had left the park.
Every child that participated in the egg hunt left with an overflowing bag/basket of eggs. It was quite entertaining to watch all of them stuffing the extra eggs that would not fit in their basket/bag in their pockets, down their shirts, jackets, boots, anywhere they could because there were so many eggs for them to pick up and open. The RCC partnered again this year with the Licking Valley Baptist Church to bring this festival to Royalton. Their members donated their time, activity room, and supplies to fill and store all those eggs at their lovely church.
The Holiness House of Prayer Church also stepped in with help for the festival and provided the sound system for our stage. The South Magoffin Community Activists provided our microphones that helped showcase several local area bands who came out on this cold day to play for free at this concert coordinated by Wittney Lovely and Terry Miller. Clay Herd and Robert May, both pastors from these churches and RCC members, were our emcees for the day and directed the day’s events and put on a very lively and enjoyable show for all.
Around noon lunch was served to all who wanted to partake. RCC members Lester Prater, Wittney Lovely, and Richard Rex Love grilled 2 full coolers of hotdogs while the rainbow girls served up lunch to everyone. They never faltered or left the grill and serving tables until every hot dog was gone. Over 500 hotdogs, sauce, coleslaw, condiments, bags of chips, cakes and drinks were provided under the beautiful pavilion overflowing with people at its numerous picnic tables.
Students from HWMS and MCHS along with members of the Holiness House of Prayer Church helped with RCC member Marlene Howard’s face and rock painting activities making sure that all the kids had the help they needed. Every child you passed at the event was decorated by bright colored stars, hearts, and crosses on their face and paint all over their hands from their visit to the two paint tents set up by the Magoffin Funeral home. The ground beside the pavilion was lined with painted rocks on plates drying while the children enjoyed their lunch and numerous games.
The RCC gave hundreds of grab bags, (filled by our senior citizens at the Magoffin Senior Center), to the children at the registration table. Old school games were played, such as 3- legged race, sack races, and egg spoon races. Hundreds of prizes, ribbons and grab bags went to the winners of the games. I’m sure the adults in attendance remember playing these games back in the day. RCC members Janice Rowe, Sherry Cooley Shepherd and Richard Rex Love got their own work out holding the games that continued throughout the day until every prize was given out. RCC members Karen Merritt, Pam Lovely, Whitney Love, with help from Brenda Miller were very busy keeping track of the bike registration, prizes and grab bags that were given out, and possibly had the busiest jobs of the day leading all the way up to that long -awaited moment that came about when 6 new bicycles were brought to the stage.
Anticipation and excitement filled the cool crisp air throughout the park around 2 p.m. when the bicycle drawing was at hand. For the first time in many hours there was a silence through the crowd as the tickets were drawn from the jars and the names of 6 lucky kids in attendance were called out and received new bicycles. The smiles and joy on all their faces were priceless and made every minute of planning and work well worth it for everyone. It was the perfect finale to a perfect day. A perfect day is often measured by the weather and on this day, it was cold, and 10 more degrees would have been appreciated. However, on this day, it was measured by the love, energy and community that surrounded every person there.
As I looked around the park from my hot chocolate station throughout the day at all the RCC members and volunteers helping, it was amazing how it seemed that we were all just like a puzzle. Each one of us is a uniquely different shaped and colored piece, having different skills and strengths. By the end of the day our different colors and shapes came together to form an image. An image that represents the people, values, strengths and hopes for a great future for our community.
Magoffin may not be a rich county or vast in its numbers but is wealthy in its people and great in its pride.
The members of the RCC are happy to make these festivals possible and serve the Magoffin County community and would like to thank all of the many, many, people who contributed in making this day happen, because without help from you, local businesses and national companies it would not be possible; Salyersville National Bank, Foothills Communications, Licking Valley RECC, Salyersville Masonic Lodge, Kiwanis of Salyersville, Pepsi, Frito Lay, GFS, Walmart of Paintsville, Walmart of Prestonsburg, Mortimer Media, Lees of Salyersville, DQ of Salyersville, Risner’s General Store, Chris Gamble of Undefeated Cuts, VIP fuels, Speedy’z, Save a Lot, Brushy Fork Missionary Baptist Church, Little Debbie, Holiness House of Prayer Church, Licking River Baptist Church, Juanita Brown, Rainbow Girls, HWMS students, Magoffin County Senior Center, South Magoffin Elementary School, MCHS students, Bill Harper, Phillip and Beverly Bailey, Tonya Ward, Paul Burchell, Jeff Lovely, Shannon and Sherry Risner, Linda Bailey, Josh and Brandi Cornett , Mathew Wireman, Bill Meade, Travis Joseph, Nadine Fraley, Kevin Howard our easter bunny, Josie Wireman Bailey contributor and our photographer, Brittany Herd for arial shots with drone, Brenda Mullins with bracelet kits, and all the RCC member’s friends and family that gave their time, supplies and monetary donations.
