OXFORD,
Miss. – Visitors to the Oxford Square will receive their own miniature
American flags Thursday (Sept. 25) as community residents and political
candidates gather to celebrate the first 2008 presidential debate,
hosted the following day at the University of Mississippi.
The following evening, everyone is invited to watch the debate on large screens on the Lafayette County Courthouse lawn.
Thursday’s free, public event, “Celebrate America: Debate ’08,” begins at 5 p.m. on the east side of the Square and ends at 6:30 p.m. The family-oriented celebration will take place in front of Neilson’s Department Store, which will be blocked to incoming traffic at noon. The rest of the Square will remain open.
Decoration for the event includes patriotic artwork created by local school children. Entertainment will include performances by the Oxford High School and Lafayette County High School bands and choruses. The Lafayette County High School Junior ROTC, Boys & Girls Club, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts will also participate.
“It’s going to be exciting,” said Mary Ann Fruge, chair the Community Event Committee and emcee for the celebration program. “It allows our family community to pull together, and by this, I mean our city, our county, our private schools all working together for one objective and that is to celebrate the fact that the debate is at the University of Mississippi and in our hometown. It also helps the children experience firsthand what the democratic process is about.”
The celebration is presented by AT&T and sponsored by Larson’s Big Star, Kroger and Metrocast.
Along with the flags, attendees will receive souvenir fans imprinted with the presidential debate logo. Free beverages will be available, including water provided by Kroger, sodas donated by Larson’s Big Star and lemonade supplied by the Oxford-Lafayette County Ole Miss Alumni Organization.
Political candidates in attendance each will have five minutes to address the audience. The celebration will end with the release of 500 eco-friendly balloons.
Invitations to speak at the celebration have been extended to U.S. senatorial candidates Sen. Thad Chochran, Sen. Roger Wicker, former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and state Rep. Erik Fleming, as well as First District Congressional U. S. House of Representatives candidates Rep. Travis Childers and Mayor Greg Davis.
“This is a welcomed opportunity for the Oxford community to hear from our U.S. senatorial and congressional candidates for their own upcoming elections, and coincides with the upcoming historic presidential debate on the Ole Miss campus,” said Don Fruge Jr., member of the community event committee. “We are delighted at the positive response from the candidates and expect attendance by everyone unless congressional business impacts travel schedules next week. We all feel this will be a significant educational opportunity for the children and entire community to hear from each of these candidates at this time.”
Community members are invited come back to the Square Friday evening with lawn chairs and blankets to watch the debate. Two large TV screens will be available to watch the telecast live at 8 p.m. from UM’s Ford Center. The free event reflects the tradition of decades ago, when locals gathered around the Courthouse to hear election results come in.
“It’s a very healthy civic exercise,” said Oxford Mayor Richard Howorth. “For our children, this is their chance to witness an American political event. It’s just great that our citizens – our volunteer citizens – took their time and energy to help produce this.”
For more information on debate-related events, go to http://debate.olemiss.edu.