History and entertainment will combine during the Patriot Day Festival at the Cumberland Courthouse on Saturday.

Parade organizer Barbara Gamage said the event is set to begin at noon and will take place behind the courthouse. She said the road will be blocked off for the event.

Gamage said participants can look out for a skit that details the history of the first call for independence from Great Britain “along with the reading of the resolution that was sent to the Congress.” Gamage noted this skit will be a new feature of the event.

She also noted a park exhibit from Bear Creek Lake State Park and corn hole games as new features of the event.

She said the event will begin with music from a band at Cumberland County Public Schools, and the Cumberland JROTC present the colors and a salute to those who served or are entering the military. The event will include the national anthem from Cumberland County High School Principal Dr. Jeffrey Scales, a group performance by Cumberland County Elementary School students and solos from participants Victoria Kinney and Lauraetta Jones-Yates.

The museum at the site of the former clerk’s office will be open, where Gamage said there will be an exhibit of dolls dressed in the style of United States presidents’ wives while in the White House.

Other activities will include “face painting for the children, an exhibit and game from the Bear Creek Lake State Park, a bouncy house for the children, corn hole games for the older children, (and) The Masonic Lodge will have the Child ID Program available for parents,” Gamage said.

She noted there would also be information tables from area civic organizations such as the American Legion Auxiliary and the area Farm Bureau.

The band Deep Blue Express will play during the afternoon.

“Food vendors include, Fitzgerald Baptist Church with Brunswick stew, Cumberland football team with barbecued chicken, Jones Chapel Church with hamburgers and hotdogs, and there will be lemonade and tea to purchase,” Gamage said.

She encouraged participants to take part in the activities and to make the most of the event.

“I hope that all families will be present as this is part of our history,” Gamage said. “Carter Henry Harrison and the Committee of Safety back in 1776 were the first group to publicly call for independence from Great Britain. We have much for which we should be proud, and I hope all citizens realize the importance of this day in our history.”