CRESTVIEW — North Okaloosa residents can observe the nation’s 238th birthday with the city’s annual Fourth of July celebration in Twin Hills Park.
Children’s activities run 5:30-8:30 p.m. Friday on the football field, with music by Larkins Express from 6-9 p.m.
As the skies darken around 9 p.m., they’ll fill with the explosions of color and sparkles of an $11,000, 15- to 20-minute fireworks exhibition by Ashley Pyrotechnics.
Parking is available on Purl Adams Avenue and in the Twin Hills Park parking areas by the children’s park, near the north side of the foot bridge, by the southwest picnic grove, and by the gymnasium.
The gym parking lot also includes handicap spots and dignitary parking, so space will be limited. Hawthorne Street and the lane south of the Northwest Florida State College Crestview campus will be closed at 6 p.m.
Except for official community fireworks displays and sparkling fireworks that send out showers of sparks, make popping noises and stay on the ground, fireworks are illegal in Florida.
But with zooming, exploding fireworks readily available just a mile over the Alabama border in Florala, many north county residents and visitors have been stocking up for their own backyard pyrotechnics.
Crestview Police Chief Tony Taylor said while his officers won’t aggressively seek out people celebrating with illegal fireworks in their backyards, they will respond to resident complaints and blatant violations, generally giving a warning.
“We’ll be responding to calls and we’ll do random patrols,” Taylor said. “Anything we come across we’ll handle appropriately. We want people to have fun but we want them to do so safely and within the limits of the law.”
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: City fireworks planned for nation’s 238th birthday