Pine Level plans America 250 celebration, barbecue fundraiser for fire department

Pine Level tied its America 250 celebration to a barbecue sale for the Pine Level Volunteer Fire Department, turning a patriotic gathering into a fund-raiser for a local service that has covered the town since 1972. The celebration was set for June 30 at the Pine Level Community Center, 121 County Road 40 E, with barbecue sales running from noon until sold out and the evening program beginning at 6 p.m.

The town built the event around family-friendly activities that matched Pine Level’s small-town scale. A free kids’ zone featured face painting, bounce houses, super-size games, hot dogs and drinks, while adults had their own watermelon eating contest and everyone could watch a watermelon seed spitting contest. The evening program also included a reading of the Declaration of Independence, a performance by the Community Chorus and a fireworks show.

Pine Level’s setup reflects how the town has been shaping its own identity since becoming a town in December 2023 after a community-driven referendum. Zachary Bigley, the town’s first mayor, and five at-large council members were sworn in on Dec. 11, 2023. The town sits along U.S. Route 31, about 18 miles northwest of Montgomery, and its emergency services come from the Pine Level Volunteer Fire Department, one reason the barbecue sale carried a practical purpose as well as a celebratory one.

The barbecue was prepared by Cowart’s Cafe, giving the fundraiser a local anchor as residents gathered for the holiday program. The town’s choice to pair a meal sale with a public program made the event more than a stage show for America 250; it put a volunteer department, a community center and a hometown caterer at the center of the night.

Pine Level’s observance also fit into a broader Alabama semiquincentennial push. The Alabama USA Semiquincentennial Commission has awarded $625,000 in 250 community grants, with up to $2,500 going to 215 municipalities and 35 county commissions across all 67 counties. In Autauga County, officials opened Liberty Fields at Pine Level Park on March 30 with a $2.08 million project that included a newly planted Liberty Tree, a Princeton Elm expected to grow 60 to 70 feet tall. Against that backdrop, Pine Level’s community-center celebration showed how the national anniversary is taking shape in one of the county’s smallest towns, through volunteer service, local food and a program built for neighbors.