Clearwater Celebrates America
This will be Coachman Park’s 18th celebration. The event starts Thursday, the 3rd at 4pm with live performances by jazz artists Paul Brown and Eric Darius. It continues on the 4th running from 2 to 10 pm, with entertainment provided by the Mostly Pops Orchestra and John & Mary Wilson. There will be a crafts show and activities for children. I also urge you to visit Rita’s Italian Ice to cool off with one of the absolute best treats in town.
St. Pete Fireworks at the Pier
The fireworks start at 9pm. This event is notorious for launching their fireworks much closer to the crowd than any other show in the area. All aerial explosions aside, the view of the water is equally impressive, as it will be completely filled with lit up boats. There will be vendors set up all over the grass area serving food and drinks, as well as free concerts which begin at 2pm. Notably, the SOCOM paratroopers will be landing in nearby North Straub Park at 7pm.
Brandon Blast
The rockets fly at 9pm. This event actually takes place at the Brandon Town Center mall, so grab your Chick-Fil-A combo from the food court and head to the seating area to catch Brandon Blast in its 5th year. WQYK 99.5 will be hosting the event and providing entertainment. There will be inflatable games for kids in front of Sears. Come a little earlier and even get some shopping done!
Independence Day Channel Side
The fun starts at 2pm with activities for the kids like face painting and balloons. 93.3FLZ and the Tampa Tribune will be sponsoring the event. Channelside is a completely different experience from most other firework venues, because there is a plethora of activities to enjoy before the 9pm show. Enter into another world full of colors and creatures at The Florida Aquarium, bowl a couple of strikes at Splitsville, browse through a gallery of fine art at Paintings of the World, grab an icecream cone at Cold Stone Creamery or catch a flic at the Channelside 9 movie theatre. There are also just too many good restaurants and clubs to mention, so absolutley plan on enjoying dinner there.
Fireworks at MOSI
I’ve heard friends rave about this event. To get in it costs $225 per person or $400 for a couple. The evening starts with a sit-down dinner under the “stars”, which takes place inside the IMAX planetarium. Dinner is followed by dancing to a live performance by Spirit of Freedom. Finally, the fireworks are viewed from the rooftop of the IMAX dome, with a lit-up downtown Tampa skyline as the backdrop. Cocktails start at 6:30 and dinner is at 7:30. Dress up.
Treasure Island King Gators 4th of July Spectacular
98 Rock will be out there all day hosting and providing live music. Alcohol and coolers are welcome. The fireworks will begin at 9pm. I was there two years ago, this is the best beachfront fireworks display in the Tampa Bay Area. Great, fun loving crowd and not many children.
Red, White and Kaboom
Lakeland’s big Independence Day celebration, which will run from 6pm till the explosions stop. Central Florida Eurocars will be exhibited around the Promenade at Lake Mirror. There will be a lot of talent on stage between jazz guitarist Les Sabler and local favorites, Citiheat. At 9pm the fireworks will begin, right over Lake Mirror.
Hernando Sportsman’s Club Machine Gun Shoot
Here YOU make the fireworks, while pretending to be Rambo. Bring your own machine gun if you have one, or for the vast majority of us, rent one of those supplied by the Club. The shooting starts at 9:30am in the Chassahowizka Wildlife Management Area, near Weeki Wachee. $20 if you want to do the shooting, $2 if you just want to watch. There are typically entire cars, 80 gallon barrels, telephone poles, washing machines and all kinds of other objects down range worth seeing completely destroyed.
4th of July at Busch Gardens
Chubby Checker and the Wildcats will perform, immediately followed by the firework display. There will also be entertainment from ventriloquist Kevin Johnson. The special entertainment starts at 6:45pm and the fireworks begin around 8:30pm. The park will be open all day, and of course there is a thing or two to do there as well.
Independence Fest
Rock out this Fourth at the State Theatre in Downtown St. Pete. The concert lineup will include Car Bomb Driver, Military Junior, Grey Market, Have Gun Will Travel, and Mouse Fire. These are some of the best indie and alt-rock bands the town has to offer, all sharing the same stage. I’ve seen each one of these bands and would recomend them ALL. The show starts at 8pm and goes late. It cost $8 to get in the door, or $5 if you have a voter ID. (how political.)
Dunedin ‘Hometown USA’ Fireworks Display
The fireworks should blend right in with all the tie-die shirts. Be prepared to be thrown back 40 years with the ‘60s Groove and The Shaguars (who I can personally say have the best false-British accents I’ve ever heard. They play a mean Beatles tune as well!) It will go down at Knology Park. There will be food and beverage vendors, so no coolers.
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