On Saturday morning the annual Dogwood Festival Parade got underway in downtown Denmark at 11:00 a.m. with Bamberg County Councilmember St Clair P. Guess III, serving as this year’s grand marshal. The annual event held again this year under clear blue skies featured a large numbers of entries including: beauty queens, floats, youth groups, Masonic organizations, motorcycle clubs, politicians and a line of Bamberg County Fire personnel in their trucks with sirens blaring just to name a few. A large number of children and adults lined Main Street for the parade and to get pieces of candy thrown alongside the parade route.

After the parade, festival goers moved on to the concessions area were they enjoyed a number of rides for the kids, a variety of food and later in the evening music of all kind.

On Friday morning, the 31st Annual Dogwood Festival Community Prayer Breakfast was held in the Multicultural Center on the campus of Denmark Technical College.

Reach out and give,” is the best way to fulfill the theme of this year’s 31st Annual Community Prayer Breakfast. Reverend James E. Holiday, Pastor of Bushy Pond Missionary Baptist Church of Norway, told those in attendance. The theme of this year’s Denmark Dogwood Festival Prayer Breakfast was “Umoja: Unity in the Community.”

Reverend Holiday told the large group of community leaders assembled in Building 026 at the annual event that kicks off a weekend of Dogwood Festival activities that “when we reach back and give, we lift our community,” adding “we have to be concerned for our fellow man.”

“We must have a charitable spirit, a spirit of compassion; we need to give of our substance and significance,” said Rev. Holiday, who has been employed at Savannah River Site for over 21 years as a Class One Law Enforcement Officer. Rev. Holiday noted that sometimes people can be “too analytical” when giving to others. “Don’t have a too analytical spirit. Reach out give, meet the need and then deal with the why question.” In closing the Pastor noted touching on the Easter theme: “Because he got up, he enabled us to reach out to others.”