Lewisville Beach Blast
Dancers of all ages swayed to live music performed at Lewisville's 2009 Beach Blast. The Fabulous Kays, shown in the background, were followed by The Embers later in the day.
Hot Day, Hot Music
A hot day with hot music is an apt summary of Lewisville’s 2009 Beach Blast held this past Saturday (June 20). The high temps didn’t seem to matter to those who danced away in the faux beach area in front of the bandstand. Music, laughter, and the wonderful aroma of grilled burgers, hot dogs, ribs and other treats filled the air around Shallowford Square.
The Fabulous Kays, from Charlotte, opened the event and were followed by The Embers.
Early Departure
For the second year in a row, my photo coverage of the Beach Blast was cut short due to the onset of severe leg cramps. Although I thought I had prepared adequately to prevent leg cramps this year, my strategy failed. Unfortunately, my early departure meant that I made no photos of the latter portion of the event — and thus no photos of The Embers — for which I am disappointed.
I’d like to thank members of the Lewisville Fire Department who came to my aid once more. (Gentlemen, I honestly did not want to meet you again under such circumstances!) Others who assisted me before the Fire Department guys took over were several unknown folks, as well as David Matthews, a town staff person. Thank you all for your care and concern.
Photo Gallery
I did manage, though, to take a number of photos before my early departure. If you’d like to see some highlights of the event before I was literally hauled off the scene, please visit the 2009 Beach Blast photo gallery. And if you’re curious, check out last year’s Beach Blast photos in the 2008 Beach Blast photo gallery.
Lewisville’s Tree Lighting Ceremony
Folks from the community began arriving at Shallowford Square shortly before 7:00 pm yesterday evening for Lewisville’s annual Tree Lighting Ceremony. The Pavilion was the gathering place for hot chocolate, delicious sweets and friendly greetings.
Families with children made up a large part of the crowd, but all ages were represented, from snuggly wrapped babies on up. Everyone, though, was bundled up on the winter-like evening with dipping temps that kept the hot drinks flowing.
Following a few words of welcome from Joyce Walker, the President of the Lewisville Civic Club, and Cecil Wood, Lewisville’s Town Manager, the crowd was treated to a few classic Christmas songs beautifully sung by Matt Morris.
Next came the moment when Mayor Dan Pugh “flipped the switch” to light the Christmas tree located near the Square’s clock. With that, the Christmas lights in and surrounding Shallowford Square were complete.
But there was more to come, because the most important guest was just arriving. Yes, Santa was whisked in on one of the Lewisville Fire Department’s big trucks. (Apparently, the reindeer had the night off.)
Santa was immediately surrounded by children and their parents as he settled into a comfy chair under the Pavilion. And while he was greeting the children and offering each of them a candy cane, The Night Before Christmas was read over the sound system by Joyce Walker.
As the event wound down, many families finished up the festive evening with a family photo at Lewisville’s Christmas tree.
Photos of this fun event can be seen in Lewisville’s Tree Lighting Ceremony photo gallery.
Halloween Night in Lewisville
The Lewisville Fire Department and Lewisville Baptist Church hosted separate Halloween events Friday evening that were attended by families and youth from Lewisville and surrounding communities. I tried my best to be at both places at once!
At the Lewisville Fire Department, several large inflatable Halloween displays and a costumed Dalmatian mascot drew the curious attention of young trick-or-treaters. After making their way through a spooky maize (constructed of hay bales) and collecting their treats, many families went on a pleasant hayride that circled Shallowford Square and returned to the fire station.
Meanwhile, at Lewisville Baptist Church, trick-or-treaters attending the church’s Trunk or Treat event were greeted by enthusiastic church members offering candy treats — with flare and originality — from their car trunks or truck beds. And as if that weren’t enough, the church then provided free hot dogs, soda, popcorn and cotton candy to its delighted visitors.
With my time being split between the two events, it was a bit of a challenge to try to cover both events well. The main challenge I faced, though, was the diminishing daylight. As the late-evening light gradually faded away, it was increasingly more difficult to get quality shots, even using a flash, which does not always yield the kind of natural-looking images that I prefer.
Representative photos from each of these events can be seen by visiting the links below:
The Jaws of Life
Two firefighters from the Lewisville Fire Department are shown demonstrating a Jaws of Life vehicle extrication at a recent gathering of children and adults.
On Thursday, October 9, firefighters from the Lewisville Fire Department demonstrated how the Jaws of Life is used to extricate accident victims. Sponsored by the Lewisville Library, the demonstration took place next to the library, in the parking lot of the G. Galloway Reynolds Community Center.
Children and adults gathered to watch firefighters remove the roof, windshield and door from a wrecked vehicle using the Jaws of Life. The Hurst Jaws of Life model shown in the above photo is a lighter-weight version of the original Jaws of Life and functions as a “combi-tool,” capable of performing various extrication procedures, such as cutting, prying and pulling.
After the roof, windshield and door were removed, the firefighters showed how a patient would be prepared for extrication, loaded onto a backboard and then removed from a wrecked vehicle.
At real-life accident scenes, the goal is to extricate a crash victim within 15-20 minutes, if not sooner. With quick extrication, a patient is more likely to receive hospital or advanced life-support care within what is typically referred to as the “Golden Hour,” thereby improving a patient’s chances of survival.
As scary as an accident can be, it’s reassuring to have technology such as the Jaws of Life available to us, if needed.
Even more reassuring is the presence of the expertly trained personnel of the Lewisville Fire Department who serve our community with dedication and enthusiasm.
To see more photos of this event, please visit the Jaws of Life photo gallery.
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