• E-Mail
• Print
• Larger
• Smaller

Published: Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2013 / Updated: Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2013 05:31 PM

Celebrate Clover at St. Patrick’s Day event, time capsule burial

CLOVER -- 

A weekend of Clover activities that begin with Saturday’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Festival will wrap up with a Sunday time capsule dedication that marks the end of the town’s 125th anniversary celebration.

The St. Patrick’s Day Festival – from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in the downtown area – includes an Irish strong men and women bench press competition, live music and entertainment, a dog show, a treasure hunt for children and vendors. A leprechaun leap begins at 9 a.m., followed by a fun run.

Ja’Bria Barber – a Clover High School student and recent “American Idol” contestant – will perform at 10:30 a.m. at the stage beside the Clover YMCA; Contagious Blues Band will perform at noon the Knox Street stage.

On St. Patrick’s Day Sunday, the town plans to end the seven-month observance of its 125th anniversary year in 2012 with the dedication and burial of a time capsule at New Centre Park.

Town Manager Allison Harvey asked that those who attend the 2 p.m. time capsule ceremony come dressed in Irish green for a community picture. “We are going to be set up to do that,” she said.

Harvey said the town is asking residents to submit predictions of what life in Clover will be like in 50 years – in 2062 – when the time capsule is planned to be opened. The predictions will be placed in the capsule, she said.

She said Clover school district employees and Town Council members have made predictions that will be included. “We would love for anyone to make a prediction for what life will be like in Clover in 2062.”

Winners of an eighth-grade essay competition will be announced during the dedication, she said. The first-place winners from Clover and Oakridge middle schools will each receive $50, she said.

All eighth-grade students from the two schools participated in the essay contest, Harvey said. The students were asked to write an essay comparing Clover past and present and offering predictions for the future, using research on town history and site-specific evidence.

The schools narrowed down the essays to the top three from each school, she said, and members of the 125th anniversary committee chose the winners by reading and ranking the three finalists from each school. The winning essays also will be placed in the capsule, she said.

Harvey said the time capsule will include newspapers from the 125th year, sales circulars, town newsletters and phone books. Harvey said residents can suggest other items that should be included. “We’d be happy to fit whatever we can in the box,” she said.