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Festival opening ceremony in Pikeville highlights Shriners fundraising and honors founders
Summary
Organizers opened the 49th Hillbilly Days festival in Pikeville with prayers, anthems, honors for founders, and reports that the event has raised millions for Shriners hospitals since 1970; speakers also shared patient stories and announced local fundraising events.
Jimmy Kinney opened the 49th Hillbilly Days festival in Pikeville on April 1 with remarks honoring the event's founders and calling the celebration a longstanding tradition that benefits Shriners hospitals. Eddie Overstreet led an invocation and Mr. Ferguson performed the national anthem before the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Kinney recounted the festival's origins, describing how founders Harold "Dirty Ears" Stratton and Grady Kinney persuaded local officials to approve the first parade, which was held on April Fools' Day and…
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