Fourth activities flourish in Bayview even with holiday’s Saturday date

As the morning of theFourth of July dawned, there was much trepidation regarding the potential turnout for Bayview’s celebration.

This year, unlike others when Bayview picks the Saturday closest to the Fourth for Bayview Daze, this year the Fourth fell on Saturday. This meant competition from several surrounding venues, all with parades and some with fireworks as well.

The Chamber of Commerce needn’t have worried: Parade entries started lining up early with organizers suddenly realizing that pandemonium was about to occur. By parade time, they were still coming, testing those trying to keep track of who’s who for the judges. Finally, about 11:25 a.m., the parade started down Main Street, more than 100 units strong. Street fair vendors were swamped as well.

As usual, by the time for the lighted boat parade and subsequent fireworks display, this little village was wall-to-wall people lining the shore. As always, the program was outstanding. Unlike many sponsored fireworks displays, Bayview collects donations all year for this citizen-sponsored event. As usual, the ever-popular Bell Family performed outside Saturday afternoon at the Captain’s Wheel.

As the weekend faded into memory, though, an intense thunderstorm with high winds hit the area about 8:20 Monday morning. Two kayakers were caught up in 4-foot waves and swamped near Maiden Rock. Timberlake Fire and Rescue jumped on it and sent its fire boat for a scary rescue up against the cliffs, where the victims were clinging. As soon as the boat got back, the EMS crew was dispatched to Twete Road at Good Hope, where yet another serious injury accident involving children and ATVs occurred.