Conroe's Freedom Fest: A Celebration of America

CONROE, TX -- It was a little humid, but the gentle breeze kept the larger beads of sweat at bay, as citizens of Montgomery County and beyond gathered around Downtown Conroe to enjoy the festivities associated with the Founding of Our Nation. The 4th Annual Freedom Fest, held this past Saturday, had vendors scattered from Simonton Street (and Heritage Place) east of Frazier/TX-75 to North Pacific Street, next to the railroad tracks, with additional attractions and booths along N. Main Street. The event was organized in partnership with several corporations such as Enercorp, Pro Directional, and Complete Home Remodeling. In addition, numerous businesses in Historic Downtown Conroe chipped in to bring about a gathering for young and old to come and hang out, listen to some patriotic music, and watch some fireworks.

“We are here to celebrate America,” said David Usifah, a Nigerian born naturalized American, who spent 23 years in the U.S. Navy. Usifah spent the day enjoying the festivities with his wife and daughters. “I’m proud to be an American, a Texan, and a Veteran.”

The streets were very active starting from before noon, with tons of activities geared for kids of all ages. Along Main and Simonton Streets there were water slides, a dunk tank, a rock climbing wall, and cornhole tournaments. If you needed to shelter from the heat a bit, you could drop into one of the local watering holes to cool off with a beer, glass of wine, a mixed drink, or even some mead. Of course there was plenty of water and colas available for everyone to wet their whistles.

“We came this evening to remember my son,” said Margie Taylor, who was attending with her husband Jeff. Taylor’s son, U.S. Army Specialist Joey Lenz, 32, passed away at Food Hood in February 2022.

The event was well attended with Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians, in all totalling over several thousand, all enjoying themselves in celebrating Our Nations’ Independence Day as a whole. As the afternoon dragged into the early evening, many made their way to Heritage Place to see the Conroe Symphony Orchestra.

“Me and my family truly enjoyed the event,” said Richard Birch, a visitor from Illinois, who is looking to move his family to Montgomery County. “This place has the look and feel of an area that I want to be a part of, and being a Veteran myself, I’m very impressed with the Veterans Flag Park, and the Veteran themed restaurant in town (Honor Cafe). Not to mention the great appreciation that the area has for Veterans.

The Sun’s dipping below the horizon brought the Conroe Symphony Orchestra into the limelight, as Conductor Gary Liebst had his group of talented musicians playing all the Summer Classics expected in celebrating Our Nation’s Independence Day. They even threw in some early Beatles’ favorites, along with ‘Texas, Our Texas.’ The Woodlands’ Nancy Curtis was the soloist for the concert, and sang a wonderful rendition of ‘God Bless the U.S.A.,’ to close out the music just before the fireworks.

“It is such an honor that the Conroe Symphony Orchestra was asked by Conroe officials to provide entertainment at this year’s Stars and Stripes Celebration,” said Liebst. “We were fortunate to be chosen to honor America by providing entertainment for everyone who attended and we really enjoyed the patriotic music we played!”

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