Greensboro prepares for Fun Fourth

GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Thousands of people are expected to be drawn to downtown Greensboro from across the state for Fun Fourth.

Crews are working to transform downtown Greensboro in preparation for the free event tomorrow.

Downtown Greensboro Inc. said it takes around 100 people to prepare for the event.

It’s now the final countdown to Fun Fourth festivities.

DGI along with local businesses and vendors participating in Fun Fourth said they’ve been working around the clock to prep tomorrow.

“This is probably my biggest event,” the Fruity Lemon Owner Lanxton Sharpe said.

It’s the second year 11-year-old Lanxton Sharpe will be selling his 15 flavors of fresh squeezed lemonade at the Fun Fourth Freedom Fest.

The young owner of the Fruity Lemon said prep is key when expecting hundreds in downtown.

“We like do it a couple of days before the event … We normally estimate how many people are going to be there, and then we squeeze the amount of lemons, syrup and all that stuff for it,” Sharpe said.

‘We operate out of shifts. So everybody is signed up for different shifts … Everybody has a group. It’s pretty fun … My friends also help me out,” Sharpe said.

He’s just one of many other vendors at the event, and nearby downtown businesses also benefit from the large crowd.

“We have businesses that are not on Elm Street … We invite them into the footprint for free. Those businesses typically sell out, and it gives them a way to reintroduce themselves to the community,” Downtown Greensboro Inc. President Zack Matheny said.

Downtown Greensboro Inc. started preparing for the event last week.

Along Elm Street, signs are up in parking lots, around parking meters and waiting at intersections where streets will be blocked off for the Fun Fourth event.

“It’s all hands on deck for our team to give this community a great free event,” Matheny said.

Fun Fourth will take place along Elm Street and will have performers, vendors and live entertainment.

It kicks off tomorrow at 7 a.m. with the Freedom Run. The Fun Fourth Freedom Fest will be held from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

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