(Banner Staff Photo by Don Treul) Chris Morrow of Gilmer supervises the set up of the Hip Hop Amuzements carnival that will be featured at the Red, White and Blud Festival. Morrow and his crew began setting up the rides Monday. After months of preparation and anticipation, the Red, White and Blue Festival will be Saturday, Nov. 7, in Bullard.

The festival is hosted by the Bullard Area Chamber of Commerce and the biggest sponsors include Sams and Brookshire’s.

Activities will start with a parade at 10 a.m. The parade route will start at the new elementary school and eventually proceed through downtown.

A ceremony to honor military veterans, and naming Miss Armed Forces will follow the parade.

New to the festivities this year will be the Veterans Hospitality Booth, sponsored by KLTV and Chicken Express.

“We are pleased to have goody bags for our vets this year,” said Media Veteran Hospitality Coordinator, Mike Christopher. “Area businesses have been eager to help us salute our veterans.”

Veterans are invited to stop by the booth at noon following the ceremony to pick up goody bags and Tshirts while supplies last. The VH Booth will be northeast of the stage and will be manned all day by volunteers, many of whom have military experience or currently have family members serving overseas. A sign-in guest book will be available for veterans willing to tell their stories to media before next year’s event.

“The Patriot Guard and Welcome Home Soldiers will be joining us, too, so there should be a lot of excitement,” Christopher said.

Following the parade, performances scheduled include cheerleaders from Chapel Hill High School and Bullard High School, Spirit of Tyler Cheerleaders, drill teams from Bullard High School, Robert E. Lee High School and John Tyler High School, the Jacksonville Square Dancers and more. (See the schedule on Pages 6-7.)

Live music will be performed by James Lann, Jamie Richards, Morrison- Williams, Lauren Alexander, Jason Allen and Honeybrowne.

Other festival activities will include vendor booths, a carnival, a petting zoo, vendors, a car show, live music, a mechanical bull and more.

This year’s key note speaker is Joan Hallmark of KLTV, known for her Freedom Fighter series, along with her extensive experience in the television industry.

There is no admission charge to the Red, White and Blue Festival.