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The Seaside Fireworks Spectacular is back and somehow bigger than ever! From 10:00 AM until the last freedom fighters go home, the beaches of Seaside will be overrun on July 4th by those coming out to celebrate Independence Day or freedom in general for those who might not be from America (or even Earth). Everyone is welcome!

Sponsored by the Terran-American Expat Club, Hunt Energy, and H&A Industries, the event is open and free to the public. Featuring food, drinks, and family friendly beach activities, the crowning jewel of the evening will be an hour long fireworks show put on shortly after sundown.

For the first year ever, there will be a hot dog eating contest with a grand prize of 10,000 silver. A number of the city's food trucks and independent eateries have come out for the event, all providing their fare at absolutely no charge (though said eateries are reimbursed by sponsors accordingly). While there may be no cost to partake, donations are being accepted for the Old Market Women’s Shelter.

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Food, Drinks, Festivities:

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Hot Dog Eating Contest:

https://i0.wp.com/secretnyc.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/hot-dogs.jpg Contestants will be given 10 minutes to eat as many hot dogs (with buns) as they can. Whoever crams the most down their gullet at the end of 10 minutes wins 10,000 silver and a 5,000 silver donation in their name to a charity of their choice.

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STARS AND STRIPES

Ashley was there to celebrate the FREEDOM of GREATEST COUNTRY of all space, time, etc. Sure, beer pong and other such activities shouldn't be on her to-do list...she's supposed to be dealing with that no-drinking-no-drugs-lifestyle, but...hey, everything in moderation! She didn't get too drunk, not at all.

Abby gathered up the populace of the apartment building at Old Temple West and dragged them out to the beach early Wednesday morning to stake their claim in the sands. They set up a canopy and a couple of pup tents, knowing full well they planned on partying hard and passing out late. They built their own bonfire to grill hot dogs and s'mores. Though they brought their own coolers full of booze and snacks, Abby made it a point to circulate and sample the other items being sold and given away.

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Though she was much too much of an introvert to have enjoyed most of the festivities, Pert felt it her solemn duty to tag along just to take care of Polly while most everyone else partied. She did not drink any of the alcohol to ensure that least one person in their group was sober enough to make sure nobody drowned. Fortunately, she had some help with the baby-sitting duties. Ed and Goshen took turns doting on baby Polly. Cindy and Ginger helped her keep baby Warren in line, too, while Nellie indulged in some much needed R&R with the adults.

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Jack didn't show up to the party until after noon, nor did he come alone. After introducing Elizabeth Day to the fam, who some might recognize as the girl who ran the candied flower petal stand next to the Wegman Brothers' mushroom booth during Beltane's Full Moon Market, Jack proceeded to fire off a confetti cannon in the middle of camp to announce their happy news.

"Aaayyyyye! We're having a kid!"

He stuck around long enough for congratulations to be passed around and to indulge in a few celebratory drinks, then disappeared with several friends to continue the party out on a boat until well after dinner. They trolled the beach of foodstuffs, even made a pit stop to participate in the hotdog eating contest.

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Though Beth was left to fend for herself with a group of people she'd only just met, an outgoing personality and perpetual smile had her making a few fast friends.

Jack somehow managed to get back into Beth's good graces by the time the fireworks show lit up the sky, and the two of them could be seen climbing into a pup tent together at the end of the night.

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So what if it was the same outfit he had worn this same time last year? It was tradition! And it was the only time of year he was ever going to wear it, so Ed was not ashamed. He proudly donned his stars and his stripes, painted his nails in an alternating pattern of blue and red, and joined the Old Temple West family in celebrating the independence of the nation they had all come from in a galaxy far, far away.

And of course, just like last year, he dragged Goshen along with him. They flew kites, played glow in the dark cornhole, and kicked the balls around on the giant pool table too. Though Ed did not participate in the hot dog eating contest, he stood on the sidelines, bouncing up and down and cheering on his cousins, Jameson moreso than Jack the meanie head.

Often, they had Polly in their company, having scooped her out of Pert's arms the moment they arrived and reluctant to surrender her to anyone else for too terribly long. She was 10 months old now, still not walking, and mostly communicating in incoherent babbles that somehow everybody could understand. She was a very expressive baby despite her limited mobility and vocabulary. She was also dressed festively adorable.

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Polly wound up being passed around between the Old Temple West camp, the Greene's camp, and the Howard's camp throughout the day, taking time to babble and nap wherever she so pleased. She was more than happy to receive passing visitors throughout the day as well. Ed did not mind so much. It made him smile to see how loved she was, and it gave him a break so that he could indulge the other kids in a game of beach ball blast tag. It was kind of like dodge ball, but with only one ball. Whoever got hit was it.

At some point Jameson and the older kids got involved and the war wound up in the water. Ed's face hurt from laughing with joy so much by the end of the day. When it got dark, he sprawled out on a blanket with Goshen to watch the fireworks while snuggling. Afterward, they went for a long walk on the beach, hand-in-hand, and disappeared for a while themselves. They turned up well before morning, curled up on a blanket, under a large umbrella, protectively curled together around a sleeping baby Polly. And she made sure everybody got up in time for breakfast.

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Goshen knew next to nothing about Earth or America, but he was happy to spend the day celebrating with all the people he'd come to call family. Fashionable as ever, the choice of a red and white suit was as close a nod to the tri-colored holiday theme as Goshen would get. Take it or leave it.

Like the year before, he abstained from the overabundance of alcohol available, but indulged in a few of the joints being passed around (when he and Ed weren't in possession of Miss Polly). The hotdog eating contest was something of a spectacle he watched with mild disgust, though he inwardly cheered for Jameson to beat Jack. He didn't take to kite flying as well as cornhole, a game in which Goshen delighted playing several times and with several opponents.

He spent a good deal of time with his parents, playing Frisbee with Fox and beating Margot at a few games of checkers on the blanket-size board game she'd brought along.

They played with the older kids for a while before dinner, tossing Wade into the waves, playing a few rounds of Chicken with Cindy and Ginger, and building a rather sorry-looking sandcastle that little Warren demolished before they had a chance to finish.

A year earlier, the moonlit walk alone with Ed would have been the highlight of his day. But this year, after all that had happened, Goshen noted that the perfect end to their night meant curling up with a sweet, snoozing baby nestled between them.

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Patrick arrived late afternoon in the company of one very pretty wizard named Penny. The two were in good spirits, a trend which only seemed to intensify as the night wore on.

They stayed out of the water in favor of enjoying some of the other activities that were offered, like the smore's station (because there was a dessert tradition to uphold) and a few games of cornhole so Patrick could show off his infuriatingly accurate aim. When he found out about the cash prize being offered for the hotdog contest, Trick happily joined the other contestants while being cheered on by Penny from the sidelines.

Instead of keeping to themselves, both Trick and Penny hung out with just about everyone they recognized and ended up around a bonfire with a few others at the end of the night. Notably cozy, even after the fireworks were finished, the two said their goodbyes and left the beach hand in hand.

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The upside to living in Seaside was the fact that when the parties started, Jodie was already right there. No, really. She lived next door to Ike, right down to the bedroom windows facing each other cliche. The Seaside Spectacular was a party she could get behind, because there wasn't a heavy emphasis on interacting with people you didn't want to, no judgement if all she wanted to do was lie in the sand and read a book until the fireworks show. That wasn't all she did, but it was the principal of the thing.

Ike's grandfather played interference, keeping Mrs. Quimby busy so her daughter could have a spectacular time with her best friend. This was their last summer before Senior year after all.

Jodie pranced proudly about the beach in a lovely denim crop top she made herself, hand-stitched butterfly appliques and all, paired with a bright red maxi skirt that kept her from overheating but helped cover the lower half of her body from the sun. When Ike went for a swim in the ocean, she hiked up her skirt to wade in the surf and take pictures of him.

Up on Ike's roof, (which was better than hers for things like fireworks and star-gazing), Jodie set up her camera with a tripod and a nice wide angle lens to capture some amazing, long-exposure shots of the fireworks. Much as she adored her friend, when it came time to call it a night, she definitely climbed back down to the safety and comfort of his room before falling asleep.

Later in the evening, as the festivities were winding down, the humble cleric made his way down the beach to take in the sights and lend a hand where it was needed...

Boom. Boom, boom, boom. Ba-boom. Red, blue, gold and green flashed across the water and across Valito's face as he paused in his stroll along the shoreline to watch the fireworks. His usual smile had been replaced by a dark frown, gaze jumping at the sound of each burst — but a gaggle of teenagers laughing and swearing and chasing each other down the beach, parting around him and drawing another warm smile and silent chuckle from the healer. "Light their path," he breathed, drawing his pendant out of his shirt with his free hand to rub it. With his other, he carried his sandals over his shoulder, enjoying the feeling of wet sand and cool water under his feet.

It had been a quiet night, as far as the services of the Order of the Flickering Flame was concerned. A shuffling figure emerged from the darkness, groaning incoherently, face lit up by a flash of red, and Val's fingers tightened around his pendant as his breath hitched....Then he crossed paths with the drunkard who was staggering dangerously close to the surf, turning him by the shoulder and saying, "Boardwalk is that way, friend." The man cursed him as he stumbled off up the beach, but Val only smiled, tracking his movements until he reached the wooden steps.

Then the cleric continued on his own way.

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For the first four hours of the spectacular, Raven helped man the St. Luke's First Aid tent, leaving Henry to keep track of Adelaide. That was pretty easily done, she was a fan of the giant pool table and where ever the Gallows clan was. She and Alex played with the kites (as best as they could), and soon after, Raven joined them to help untangle strings and help the tots better enjoy the day. Beneath the flowy fabric of her blouse, a little bump was evident, but if anyone asked, she just offered a coy smile or a laugh before redirecting attention back to the party at large. While there was no way in Hades that she would enter the hot dog eating contest, she was there on standby in the event of any medical emergencies (i.e. someone choking to death on a wiener). There were worse ways to go...

Halcyon and Stupid shoved up, the paladin distinctly dressed down in a loose top and shorts. A rather tiny bikini was underneath, as she realized this was not a nude or topless beach. Her tan would suffer lines, sadly.

As long as the surf was up, Halcyon was on her blue and gold longboard, shredding the waves with steely precision.

Stupid, on the other hand, clomped his fat ass to the hot dog contest and wolfed them down in fine giant equine style.

Later, watching the fireworks, the big destrier lay on the rug they'd lain out and polluted the air. Halcyon was used to the horror of it, though she shoved the brute often to aim him downwind.

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Eden did not get the memo that the 4th of July had anything to do with the colors red, white, and blue, so she showed up in one of her new pineapple bathing suits!

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When she found out there was a hot dog eating contest, Eden was totally in. "As many hot dogs as I want' For free!?"

She didn't entirely understand why she was supposed to eat them quickly, and asked her fellow contestants with a bewildered expression where the condiments were. But hey, a possible cash prize of 10,000 silver" She'd eat as fast as she could!

For the rest of the day, she bounced around the festivities, greeting everyone she knew and trying to spend time with all. She made sure to visit with the Gallows clan, sitting down for a good hour to help Avy with her sand castles.

As the sun went down, she invited herself to play glow-in-the-dark cornhole with Ed and Goshen, and then cooed enthusiastically over adorable baby Polly. "You match!" she giggled, as she pointed at Ed and Polly, still not getting the color theme of this holiday.

And while Addie was signing autographs for TRASH fans, Eden was enthusiastically saying hi, and making sure that everybody knew that "I know her!"

Eventually she settled down on the sand with a perfect spot to watch the fireworks, ooohing and ahhhing at the brilliant show, before finally finding her way back home.

When the hot dog eating contest came to a close, there was one grand winner!

1ST PLACE: EDEN PARKER Prize: 10,000 silver and a 5,000 silver donation in Eden's name to a charity of her choice.

But wait, there's more! Both 2nd and 3rd place took home prizes too.

2ND PLACE: STUPID THE HORSE Prize: 5,000 silver and a 2,500 silver donation in Stupid's name (or his owner's name?) to a charity of their choice.

3RD PLACE: PATRICK RICHIE Prize: 2,500 silver and a 1,250 silver donation in Patrick's name to a charity of his choice.

Congratulations to all!

((For full placement, click screenshot here. Winners chosen by list randomizer. Thanks to everyone for entering! Feel free to continue leaving posts here for however long. Icons will come out in the coming week or two!))

It had been a while since anyone had gotten a glimpse of the city siren but rumors had made their way around that she had been working on something big. This was not that something.

Peaches was aglow in her barely-there style of a bikini that boasted the American holiday colors (which was comedic given when she spoke it was with the Brixton slur from across the pond) and easily fell back into the role as a backstreet dream girl when she prowled onto the scene. Familiar faces, unfamiliar ones, it didn't matter; she chatted with anyone that stumbled in her path of whirlwind glamour.

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