Freedom Fest kicks off Longboat Key's Fourth of July just right

The 20th annual Freedom Fest was decked out in red, white and blue, and Bay Isles Road was full of hundreds of people ready to experience one of the most anticipated and beloved events of the year.

Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce President Gail Loefgren and Observer Vice President Lisa Walsh co-founded the Freedom Fest. Loefgren had to miss the fest this year due to knee replacement surgery, but she organized most of it beforehand and then finalized everything from home. She said that since she has been planning this event for years, everything was easy to set up again and fell into place nicely. Since she wasn’t able to attend, her new part-time assistant Connie Darrah managed the event.

“Everything ran incredibly smoothly,” said Darrah. “Chamber members volunteered. The parade started right on time. Bicentennial Park was jam-packed with people for the butterfly release. And the games were a really big success too.”

The "shortest parade in America" started next to Truist Bank on Bay Isles Road and ran all the way to the Town Hall. Longboat Key residents and their families lined up in the streets to see it. 

The Longboat Key Garden Club led the parade as the grand marshals. The lineup also included the Longboat Key Police Department, Fire Rescue Department, Observer Media Group, the Paradise Center, Cannons Marina, chamber members, the Rotary Club, Michael Saunders & Co. and the dogs of the Hot Diggity Dog Contest. The groups threw candy, necklaces and other prizes to the crowd.

Cannons Marina was planning to offer a $500 cash prize to the most patriotic business entry in the parade so long as there was a minimum of 10 business entries. Unfortunately, the quota wasn't met, but Cannons Marina did select the Observer as the most patriotic entry. 

“Great for the kids with the butterfly release,” said Ivan Zunz, who works the front desk at the Longboat Key Police Department. “I like the fact that there's just one road on and off. It's sort of a tight-knit little community, especially around this time it is people who are here year-round and aren’t visiting, so it's for a very target community.”

The butterfly release happened at 9:30 a.m after the parade. People gathered in Bicentennial Park and each received a package with an individually wrapped butterfly. Each person released a butterfly, filling the park with young butterflies who took their time to wake up and fly. Children couldn’t help but follow after them and attempt to pick them up. 

Each group who participated in the parade had a table set up in Bicentennial Park for the opportunity to chat and mingle about their mission. There were also games, face painting, live music, and Belgian waffles from the Blue Dolphin Cafe.

Nancy Schroeder has been going every year since she moved here and brought her family this year. “I have my two grandkids here and they're loving it. They're playing games. They let butterflies go. They love their waffles from the Blue Dolphin. They're having a great time."

The Hot Diggity Dog parade costume contest is a crowd favorite for Freedom Fest. It was started by the Longboat Key Rotary Club as a way for people to support their mission of putting in an off-the-leash dog park in Bayfront Park. Now after 10 years, it’s hard for people to imagine the fest without it. 

“When we put out our email blast to the community to the people who participated in the past I get some immediate responses from people who've done it every year,” said Carol Erker, who organized the Hot Diggity Dog contest. “They always say, ‘My dog really looks forward to this.’ Oh, really? Just the dog was looking forward to this? So it's, it's just a fun thing to rally around.”

Erker said the event has created a big community of dog lovers in the area, gathering about 250 names from the people who participated in the past. This year, there were 23 dogs and families entered in the contest.

Jim Seaton has been the resident Uncle Sam in Freedom Fest every year. 

“It's just so Americana from a sophisticated place like Longboat Key," Seaton said. "This and the 9/11 flags are two of the greatest things that happened on this Key.”