Photo by Sharon Aron Baron.
By: Sharon Aron Baron
This year’s Fourth of July celebration by the City of Tamarac brought out over 5,000 people to the Sports Complex for food, fun, and an amazing fireworks show.
“I think each year it gets better,” said Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Linda Probert. “I think it was extremely successful, extremely smooth.”
With music by The Free Rads Band, bounce houses and food trucks, Tamarac residents weren’t the only ones enjoying the fun. Residents from Coral Springs, Sunrise, Lauderhill and other cities were enjoying the celebration as well. But what many didn’t realize, were the months of planning that went into the event. Tamarac’s Parks and Recreation may have headed it up, but many other departments were part of the planning committee including Public Services, Fire Rescue, Risk – who verified the site plan and insurance for the vendors, Public Information and the Broward Sheriff’s Office – who provided extra security.
Soon, they will start all over again planning for next year’s celebration and one of the first things they’ll do is secure another fireworks agreement.
“I believe that five-year agreement is up this year, so that’s one of the first things we’ll do is go back out through the competitive bid process,” said Probert.
Fireworks aren’t cheap either. The 18-minute fireworks show cost $17,250.00. “Or about $1,000 a minute,” said Special Events Coordinator Melissa Patron.
Next, Probert said they will research available bands because they get booked up quickly for the Fourth of July. Then, they’ll work on the entertainment and vendors.
So make sure you don’t miss next year’s event. After year’s of planning, the only thing the Park’s Department cannot plan for is rain. Other than that, you can expect a great time with an amazing fireworks display.