SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) – While many Fourth of July fireworks celebrations in Tampa Bay are canceled or postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, the show went on Friday night at Nathan Benderson Park with safety precautions in place.
Organizers limited crowd capacity to 1,200 parking spots and they told spectators to wear a mask when outside of their cars.
“I think it’s fantastic and the way they’ve got it set up is perfect,” Nancy Meredith told News Channel 8. “They couldn’t do a better job.”
The Keane family from Bradenton did not want to miss out on this Independence Day weekend tradition.
“This year we were disappointed because they were canceling everywhere so when we heard about this my husband jumped on it,” Jeanna Keane said.
Her husband Ryan Keane reserved a spot two weeks ago before the tickets sold out.
“We just felt the social distancing is okay, going to stay close to the Jeep and try to enjoy the moment,” he said.
With spectators watching from inside or on top of their cars, the format for Fireworks On The Lake felt more like a drive-in movie theater.
“The only thing we’re missing is popcorn, maybe should have brought some of that,” recent USF graduate Colin Levanduski said.
