WHITE SPRINGS, Fla. — The annual May Day event in White Springs brought together another big crowd this year.

Thousands attended the day-long event on Saturday at the old Carver School site. Many who attended said they have been coming to the event for years.

Rosette Dye and Helena Webb got there early to start cooking. They said they have attended every May Day Festival for 16 years. The White Springs natives agreed that their love for the community keeps them coming back every year.

May Day is celebrated in honor of Emancipation Day, when the Emancipation Proclamation was read aloud in Tallahassee on May 20, 1685. Emancipation Day occurred 11 days after the end of the Civil War and two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

Those is attendance enjoyed food, live music and a bounce house for kids.

“It’s a good, family event,” said John White.

Musical group Men of Integrity performed for the third consecutive May Day celebration. Group member Fred Scippio Jr. said the band has been together for eight years after starting as a men’s ministry.   

“We try to do what we can to help the community,” Scippio Jr. said. “We started a scholarship program on a yearly basis to help kids with college.”