With Independence Day arriving at the climax of a three-day weekend, no one should have to worry about not seeing enough fireworks this year. From dubiously legal cherry bombs smuggled across state lines to be weilded by your drunken neighbors, to unexpected professional displays held at nearby public venues that make you think your neighborhood is under heavy mortar attack, there will be plenty of opportunities for unsolicited terror and mayhem this weekend as well. But the kids want to see fireworks, and your friends all think you’re a stick in the mud for not indulging our great nation’s latent pyromania, so why not at least take control of the situations in which you are subject to loud, colorful explosions? Here’s a list of places you can go this weekend to see fireworks, and hey, maybe if you’re lucky, one will be close enough to your house that you can convince everybody to set up lawn chairs in the backyard and watch them for free from there.
More fireworks-display listings than you ever wanted to see, after the jump…
With Independence Day arriving at the climax of a three-day weekend, no one should have to worry about not seeing enough fireworks this year. From dubiously legal cherry bombs smuggled across state lines to be weilded by your drunken neighbors, to unexpected professional displays held at nearby public venues that make you think your neighborhood is under heavy mortar attack, there will be plenty of opportunities for unsolicited terror and mayhem this weekend as well. But the kids want to see fireworks, and your friends all think you’re a stick in the mud for not indulging our great nation’s latent pyromania, so why not at least take control of the situations in which you are subject to loud, colorful explosions? Here’s a list of places you can go this weekend to see fireworks, and hey, maybe if you’re lucky, one will be close enough to your house that you can convince everybody to set up lawn chairs in the backyard and watch them for free from there.
More fireworks-display listings than you ever wanted to see, after the jump…
TONIGHT:
Genworth Financial’s Independence Day Concert
6:30 PM; 6620 W. Broad St.; free
Tonight’s concert, the 28th Annual Independence Day concert presented by Genworth Financial, begins with a performance by the United States Air Force Heritage Of America Band, who have been around ever since 1941–though not, one would assume, with the same lineup. And with a name like that, I’d be willing to bet that you’re in for a lot of John Philip Sousa, so be prepared for a couple of hours of marching-in-place music. Fireworks will follow immediately after the performance, once it gets dark.
TOMORROW:
Huguenot Volunteer Fire Department Independence Day Celebration
5 PM; 2693 Rocky Oak Rd, Powhatan; $20 per car ($15 with 5-item food bank donation)
Lots going on at this one: Music by the Pat Russell Band, water slides, Smokey The Bear, a raffle, a craft fair, and the thing I would go for–lots and lots of food trucks. Fireworks cap the whole night off, by which time you’ll probably be ready to sit down and passively enjoy your food coma.
Colonial Downs Racing To The Stars N’ Stripes
5 PM (July 2 and 3); Exit 214 off I-64, New Kent County; $40 for Blast Zone tables for 4
Blast Zone tables come with four reserved seats, four hot dogs, and four soft drinks, so if you’ve got three people to go in with you, this is quite a reasonably priced event, and you get fed! Watch horse racing on both days (if that’s your thing). The horse races will be followed with different events on each day. Saturday will feature a hot dog eating contest, in which you can try your luck if you’re up for the challenge. Sunday, there’ll be more patriotic tunes from the York River Concert Band. Both days will feature a juggler/magician, free ice cream, and plenty of games. And yes, somewhere in there, they’re fitting in a fireworks display.
SUNDAY:
RVA Fireworks On The James
7:30 PM; Brown’s Island; free
This brand new “Patriotic Family Fun” event is yet another way in which the Mayor’s office is attempting to get the word out about how great Richmond is, which always sounds like a good idea to me. In addition to the main viewing site on Brown’s Island, there’ll be several other places to get a good view of the display, including Oregon Hill, Manchester, and Chimborazo Park. But if you do choose to battle the traffic and hit up Brown’s Island, you’ll get to see performances by SPARC (School of Performing Arts in the Richmond Community), the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Richmond Ballet’s “Minds in Motion.” And of course, there will be food trucks. Aww, yeah. Fireworks start around 9:30, so bring out your picnic supplies and lawn chairs, either to Brown’s Island or your nearest riverside park, and be prepared to kick back.
MONDAY:
OK, this is where it gets hectic.
Fireworks At The Diamond
6:30 PM; The Diamond (3001 N. Boulevard); $7-11
The Flying Squirrels take on the Trenton Thunder in their Monday night game, and there will of course be fireworks afterward, but as of right now, that game is SOLD OUT, so you’re gonna have to hit up the Science Museum parking lot or some other likely adjacent spot (like my back porch, grumble grumble) if you want to catch the festivities. The Squirrels will also be playing the Thunder on the 5th, 6th, and 7th, though, and repeating the fireworks display after each of these games, so don’t despair–if you want to catch fireworks at the Diamond this year, but still haven’t bought any tickets, you’ll have plenty of opportunities. Of course, as those of us who live in the Diamond’s vicinity can tell you, you’ll really have more chances than that, because there are fireworks at the Diamond ALL THE TIME (grumble grumble). So on this festive holiday, why not check out one of these other wonderful displays? Like…
Fireworks At Dogwood Dell
5 PM; Byrd Park (6000 S. Blvd); free
The most venerable Richmond fireworks tradition is still going strong, and this year’s Dell display will follow a concert featuring Kidz In Da Biz, Sharon North, a carillon bell concert, and the Richmond Concert Band, who will apparently mix typical patriotic music with a performance of Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture,” complete with cannons and carillon bells. That way, once your eardrums have been blown out by cannon fire, the fireworks explosions won’t seem very loud to you at all. Seems like quite a strange mix of performers, and I can’t imagine the way families and the elderly will react to Kidz In Da Biz, but maybe everyone’s just planning to come late anyway.
If you’re out in the counties and don’t want to schlep all the way into the city to see a fireworks display, you’re in luck, because there’s plenty going on out in suburbia for you to check out:
Chesterfield County Fourth Of July Celebration
5 PM; Chesterfield County Fairgrounds (10300 Courthouse Rd); free
Gates open at 5 PM, and roads leading to the fairgrounds will be closed off once parking lots are full, so if you’re trying to hit this event, get there early. Don’t worry, there’ll be plenty to do until the fireworks arrive with the coming of darkness. For one thing, there’ll be a kids activity area (where they can run themselves silly for a few hours so they’ll crash out in the back seat of the car on the way home and give you a peaceful evening); for another, you can look forward to a performance by the Kings Of Swing (who I saw almost 20 years ago–again, I’m assuming it’s not the same lineup). And I mean, there are always food trucks at events like this, so you can insulate yourself from any holiday-related misery with a healthy layer of chili dogs and fried dough. Which is what it’s really all about, right?
Colonial Heights Fireworks Display
9:15 PM; in the vicinity of Charles Dimmock Parkway; free
No frills on this one, and therefore the curmudgeon in me finds it appealing. Think of it; a 30-minute drive down I-95 South to sit on a towel in a field, see 15 minutes of explosions, and drive 30 minutes back home. It’s hardly enough of a time commitment to even get annoying. Depending on how far you live from downtown Colonial Heights, you could be back home in time to catch the new episode of Teen Wolf on MTV. Don’t front–you know you’re stoked.
Fourth At The Fort
2 PM; Williams Stadium, Fort Lee; free
On the other hand, for those of you in deep Southside who are looking for a more elaborate celebration, our local Army outpost is doing it up right, with an 8 hour festival featuring a KidZone with inflatable rides and games, as well as music by Masters Of Motown and the Fort Lee Army Band. Show up early, because the KidZone is only free until 5 PM, after which tickets are a dollar. You need that money for food truck cheeseburgers. Fireworks will begin at 9:30 or so, 7 1/2 hours after the event opens–which probably seems perfectly normal to soldiers, since stamina and endurance are essential parts of their job. You and your tuckered-out kids will view the fireworks through half-closed eyes, then head home to sleep like rocks.
Nights Of Fire at Kings Dominion
10 PM; Exit 98 off I-95; free with admission to the park
Apparently the “Nights Of Fire,” a regular event at King’s Dominion throughout the summer, is part of a larger sequence of events called “Snoopy’s Starlight Spectacular.” I don’t know about you, but my cold black heart melts at the thought of anything related to Charles M. Schulz’s legendary Peanuts characters, so it sounds cool to me. But first you have to get into the park and, in order to really get your money’s worth, spend at least 8 hours riding rollercoasters. Which was a cool way to spend an afternoon when I was 14, but I was 14 a long time ago. Plus, the prices at the food vendors are outrageous. But hey, if you prefer your fireworks extravaganzas to cap off an afternoon spent riding the Rebel Yell backwards and losing your wallet on the Berserker, this is the event for you.
Fireworks At Busch Gardens
9:30 PM; Exit 243A off I-64; free with admission to the park
Not to be outdone, the slightly more upscale amusement park of our general vicinity has its own fireworks display happening on Monday. Now, for me, the rides at Busch Gardens never really could compete with the ones at King’s Dominion (although that “Turkish Delight” teacup ride snuck up on me once as a teenager–I thought it’d be easy, and it kicked my ass. Never again). I used to think the arcades there were superior, but the idea of plugging entire rolls of quarters into a Gauntlet machine all afternoon doesn’t give me the thrill that it once did either. On the other hand, when I was 12, I didn’t really understand why my dad would disappear into the beer garden for hours, so maybe Busch Gardens isn’t such a bad amusement park for adults after all. There’s also a special VIP deal you can get for the fireworks display that lets you into an all-you-can-eat buffet area. It’s a good bit more than the cost of admission into the park, so it’s not for everybody, but if you’ve got the cash, it looks like it’d be well worth it. But then, it should be obvious by now that for me, the Fourth Of July is all about the food.
And so, as you can see, there are plenty of opportunities for you, your friends, your family, and everyone else you know who lives in the area to completely overdose on fireworks over the course of the next four days (or, really, seven, depending on how many Squirrels games you feel like going to this week). So plan your itinerary accordingly. You probably won’t see me–I’ll be at home watching old episodes of The Wire on Neflix instant. But then, as should be obvious by now, I hate fun.
