Flagler County Government and the Cities of Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, and Bunnell invite all Flagler County residents and visitors to the United Flagler 4th Community Celebration on Friday, July 4.
The day’s festivities begin with the cherished Stars and Stripes parade down A1A in Flagler Beach in the morning, presented by the Rotary Club of Flagler Beach. The parade will follow its traditional route from North 6th Street to South 6th Street along A1A in Flagler Beach, within view of the pier about to be demolished and rebuilt (along with that boardwalk).
Following the parade, residents and visitors can enjoy the beach (remember that sunscreen) while indulging in the music and entertainment provided by DJ Vern of SURF 97.3 FM at Veterans Park in Flagler Beach. Day-long activities there include including hula hoops, corn hole toss, limbo, and a Kona Ice brain-freeze contest.
The highlight of the day will be the Fireworks Over the Runways, hosted at the Flagler Executive Airport off of Fin Way in Palm Coast. The entire community is welcome to attend, with gates opening at 5 p.m. The fireworks display begins at 9:00 p.m. The fireworks are a $19,500 production of Master Pyro Displays of Jacksonville. It will consist of over 3,300 shells, more than 3,000 of them in the 3-inch or smaller range, with 149 4-inch shells, 100 5-inch shells, six 18-inch shells, and four shells 8 inches or larger. The show is slated for 15 to 16 minutes.
For attendees of the fireworks show, please take note of a change in location this year.
Guest parking, including handicapped parking, will be situated on the south side (back of the airport), accessible via Fin Way off South Belle Terre Boulevard. This will be the sole event location this year. There will be no access to the front of the airport and no parking at Flagler Palm Coast High School.
A variety of vendors, including food vendors, a beer garden, kids’ activities, and more, will be available. A main stage featuring a DJ will maintain an energetic atmosphere, and at 7:00 p.m., local dignitaries and elected officials will recite the Declaration of Independence. The Palm Coast Fire Department Honor Guard will present the nation’s colors, and the talented Melanie DiMartino will grace us with her rendition of the National Anthem. Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs. Portable restroom facilities and a handwashing station will also be provided.
It’s a free event all around, including parking. Glass bottles are strictly prohibited. The airport will remain operational throughout the day, with a temporary closure during the fireworks show. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with the Palm Coast Public Works Department and Flagler County Assist volunteers, will oversee traffic control, crosswalks, and parking. Carpooling is strongly encouraged to ensure the accommodation of as many people as possible.
Save the date and join us for a day filled with fun, entertainment, and patriotic celebration! All event information will be available at UnitedFlagler4th.com. Stay updated with the latest news and information through various digital communication channels.
Note: this is an updated article that has appeared ahead of previous July 4 celebrations. Previous comments have been preserved below.
Joe D says
Maybe once the Flagler Peer is complete, the County can ROTATE the celebration every year, rather than spend the money to have a separate July 4 program at EACH jurisdiction….that way EVERYONE gets a chance to have their holiday
Randy says
That airport will be so crowded. It’ll be a real zoo! It makes me mad these real estate agents keep advertising palm coast as a small town! It’s over 150,000 people. It is so hard to drive through all the traffic anymore here it’s ridiculous, not even to mention all the building and destruction going on .
Brian says
Peer?
Steve says
Gotta already make three circles & park a block away to patronize my fav FB coffee shop or even the taco shop- on a Tuesday.
Then palm coast closes the highschool parking and thinks getting your car stuck in the only open parking field (that is half mud) should be part of the 4th festivities?
Think I’ll just sit on my roof and watch the neighbors display from a few streets over and wait till fireworks return to the beach.
Greg says
Wow what a train wreck event! So much traffic! You cant have 50,000 people one way in one way out! This town is way too big yo have events like this
Roy says
Flagler County Assist helps with all the traffic throughout the parade and the fireworks. They all volunteer their time under the guidance of Bob Pickering. The amount of abuse they take from angry drivers is a travesty. They don’t lay out nor have any input in the traffic plan but I guarantee every one of them suffered verbal abuse last night. Hats off to all of them. Great Job.
Eric says
I get everyone has a right to their opinion, but its absolutely crazy to me how much people bitch and complain about any/everything. Its like they just roll out of bed and see how much negativity they can spread.
Valerie Waine says
Kudos to a group of officials and well organized volunteers who made United Flagler 4th events successful. Major events generate heavy traffic. If people are unable to understand this, show respect and patience, they should not attend.
The Voice Of Reason says
Roy,
Please retire and close the flight school airport.
TR says
@Randy, your numbers are off. There are 102,113 people living in Palm Coast and 131,439 in the entire flagler county from an internet search on Google.
Dennis C Rathsam says
To sit in traffic for 2 hours, to see 15 mins. of fireworks is crazy! With the help of my great nieghbors on Luther Dr. We have our own celebration of fireworks over Matanzas Lake. The more money I collect, the longer the show…. Last year $950.00 dollars went up in smoke, & it lasted a good 20 mins. All Republicans in P/C are welcome to my back yard. Show starts at 9pm. If you have fireworks & don’t know where to shoot them off this is the perfect spot, as the fireworks glisten above the water! This is our 13th year!
S. Peters says
Ahhh yes, Independence Day, July 4th. What independence are we celebrating? It seems that our government, Federal, State and Local seem to have lost sight just what our independence is for. Perhaps the Declaration of Independence should be read again and see just how relevant that is in these turbulent political times.
“You look right up there,” Trump said, pointing to the wall, “I don’t know, you see the Declaration of Independence, and I say, I wonder if you, you know, the Civil War always seemed to me maybe that could have been solved without losing 600,000 plus people.”
The Declaration of Independence was America’s declaration it would no longer be ruled by England. It effectively became a declaration of war: the American Revolutionary War, or the American War of Independence, which lasted from 1775 to 1783.
By contrast, the American Civil War was fought in the following century, from 1861 to 1865, over slavery.
Critics were quick to mock the President.
“I think we all remember our schooling, when we learned how the Declaration of Independence led to the Civil War,” snarked former journalist Landon Hall.
“As a Canadian, even I know that the Declaration of Independence has absolutely zero to do with the Civil War, what is going on down there?” asked filmmaker Robert Fantinatto.
“Does he think the Declaration of Independence was written in response to the Civil War?
What is he talking about?” asked attorney Robyn J Leader.
So our own so-called President has no idea what the Declaration of Independence is and what America stands for. Makes sense that his fascist ideology is running rampant. Perhaps an American History Exam should be required to become president. Banning books, DEI, immigrants that are grandmothers and children being dragged off the streets. IDK, this isn’t American to me or Christian behavior at all.
JimboXYZ says
Let’s hope this doesn’t inspire the neighbors to shoot off fireworks in the residentials. Pay attention to the weather & rain that we’ve not been getting the last week or so & up to July 4th. Nobody will have a sense of humor if a fire happens. Don’t aim & shoot them over my property or over the treelines & into another’s property. If you’re going to burn a house down, make sure you live in it & then nobody will have to be sorry for their miscalculations. That way, the one’s that did it are the homeless ones. 2 times of the year I cringe knowing I have neighbors that aren’t that bright. The other day fireworks burned down a shed on a property. Juveniles torching that property. Don’t trigger & get me started on the EV battery(ies) that caught fire at the Bunnell automobile salvage yard.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/palm-coast-officials-urge-safety-ahead-of-fourth-of-july-after-fireworks-ignite-shed-fire/ar-AA1HkPWx
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/16-vehicles-involved-in-palm-coast-car-fire/ar-AA1HpDtB
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/lithium-ion-battery-fire-may-have-sparked-blaze-flagler-county-salvage-lot-officials
I’m not going to be impacted by the traffic, I can see that show from where I live, I don’t have to contribute to gridlock & be in it or there to celebrate Independence Day. Once you’ve seen a fireworks show, the rest of them are pretty much the same. Imagine the logic behind banning glass bottles for safety reasons at the fireworks show, yet approve the alcoholic beverages that we all know will be a part of the festivities ? When did alcohol & fireworks ever end well ? When did large crowds & alcohol ever not have it’s share of DUI/DWI, road rage. Just astonishes me to this very day that nobody can connect those dots ? FCSO even remotely believes anyone is impaired and that’s a problem. And now the bet is, that one can infiltrate the sober one’s at a mass event & not be discovered somehow ? Sounds more like a paying customer of drunk drivers membership drive by those parasites seeking to profit off the event ? Don’t be that loser on 7/4, you won’t be a victim that evening, just the one that was too stupid to see the loaded game being played against you, the game you are supposed to lose & pay for participation. The alcohol abusers, make sure you practice standing on one foot, touching your eyes with your eyes closed, following a beam of light. That’s just the start of the exam, they’ll want to search your car for drugs, firearms & anything else they can tack on for charges. You’ll be doing the FCSO hokey pokey dance for being processed at the Green Roof Inn.