Fourth of July exploding everywhere
Posted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/rhtn/News/4074/
Rogers residents will have a choice of fireworks shows to enjoy for Independence Day this year.
In spite of construction in and around Veterans Park, the traditional city fireworks show will take place on July 3, according to Janet Foster, assistant to Mayor Steve Womack. Vendors will have food and soft drinks starting at 6 p. m. The show starts at 9: 30.
There won’t be any live entertainment this year, Foster said, but a sound system will allow the fireworks to be choreographed to music. Music will begin at 6 p. m.
The contractors working on new baseball fields for both Heritage High School and Rogers High School in Veterans Park will secure those areas, Parks and Recreation director Rick Stocker said. Although there may be some construction equipment in the area, it’ll be out of the way of the fireworks crowd.
In spite of road construction on Veteran’s Parkway and First Street, Lt. Mike Johnson of the Rogers Police Department expects to park about 1, 000 cars in the park.
“ Almost every year around 9 to 9: 15 (p. m. ) we have to close the park down, ” he said, explaining that even with the extra entrances and exits open, only about 1, 000 cars fit inside the park.
On the Fourth, the company that set off the fireworks at Veterans Park, A. M. Pyrotechnics, will move to the Pinnacle Country Club for the fireworks show that will follow the first round of the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tournament. Johnson will be helping with traffic at that event as well. A field near the country club, across from Metropolitan State Bank, has been set aside for fireworks viewing.
People with tickets to the tournament will also have the chance to hear country music star Daniel Lee Martin before the fireworks, according to tournament publicity.
There are also two chances to see fireworks around Beaver Lake. On July 4, approximately 1, 000 boatloads of spectators will see the fireworks above Rocky Branch Marina, dock attendant Derek Blackwell said. Other people will line the shore in Rocky Branch Park which is located about 45 minutes from downtown Rogers.
The Rocky Branch fireworks are traditionally funded by donations matched by the marina owner, Blackwell said.
“ We pretty much buy as many fireworks as we can, ” he said.
On the fifth of July, Ventris Trail Resorts plans a fireworks show that can be seen from the lake near mile marker 8. The show begins at 9 p. m. and is choreographed to music, according to resort manager Jody Simrell.
The resort sponsors the show with volunteers helping that night, he said.
“ We have our work cut out for us this year, ” he said, explaining that because of the high lake level, the area where he usually shoots off his fireworks is now underwater. He’s working with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers to find a new location.
People count on the show, he said, so he’s committed to doing it one way or another. There won’t be any place to view the fireworks from the shore line near the resort, he said. The show is designed to be seen from the water. Last year, hundreds of people lined the shore in Larue, which is across the lake from Ventris Trail, Simrell said. This year, there won’t be very much shoreline there either.