Florida’s beaches, theme parks and other attractions already are enticing enough for a summer vacation, but they are bursting with activities for the July 4 weekend.
Fireworks displays over the water; concerts at amphitheaters, beaches and speedways; and family-friendly festivals are on offer from small towns to hot vacation destinations.
Here’s a look at the range of holiday activities across the Sunshine State, most of which are free.
Fireworks
Florida's beaches, bays, rivers and lakes offer spectacular settings for sitting back and watching fireworks displays. In fact, more than 90 fireworks events are listed at exploresouthernhistory.com, and you also can find events on the state's tourism website, visitflorida.com and @visitflorida.
In St. Augustine, the nation's oldest city, July 4 fireworks over the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument and Matanzas Bay are a unique way to celebrate America's independence. The display at 9:30 p.m. follows a concert by All Star Orchestra as part of the Fireworks over the Matanzas event (staugustinegovernment.com).
On the Panhandle, Panama City Beach's Pier Park (visitpanamacitybeach.com) will hold its 4th of July Spectacular, featuring fireworks — touted as the largest display on the Gulf Coast — after a day of live music and children's activities. Destin's patriotic display of fireworks and live music will occur over HarborWalk Village for the 4th of July Extravaganza (emeraldgrande.com).
On the Space Coast, three days of fireworks are planned for the annual Smoke on the Water & Fire in the Sky event (visitspacecoast.com). Go all three days and you'll see fireworks over Cocoa Beach, Port Canaveral and Riverfront Park.
Also on the state's east coast, Delray Beach's free July 4 celebration on A1A includes such kids activities as water slides and games; a beer garden for adults; and custard- and burger-eating (not at the same time) contests. Live music and a sand sculpture contest during the day lead up to nighttime fireworks (julyfourthdelraybeach.com).
Parades
Start off the festivities early, with a July 3 evening parade in the Gulf Coast city of Apalachicola, which also will have a homey ice cream social, live music and then fireworks over the river (apalachicolabay.org).
Along Highway 30A in the Panhandle, a popular stretch for vacationers from metro Atlanta, the annual Fourth of July Parade moves from Seagrove Beach to Seaside to kick off the day. Golf carts, floats, bicycles and pets are part of the 1.5-mile procession (30a.com/the-4th-of-july). Concerts and fireworks follow that evening in Seaside (seasidefl.com) and nearby communities such as Rosemary Beach (rosemarybeach.com) and Alys Beach (alysbeach.com).
In southeast Florida, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea (lbtsevents.com) will have a morning parade and fireworks on the beach at night. On the state's southwest coast, Naples will hold a mid-morning parade with nighttime fireworks at the Naples Pier (naples-florida.com). Down in the Keys, parades are planned in Key Largo and Marathon.
Sporting events with a twist
Rev up your celebration at the Coke Zero 400, a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race July 5 at Daytona International Speedway, with fireworks after the race. Or you can put your body into motion by climbing the 203 steps to the tallest lighthouse in Florida, the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse in Daytona Beach, which will have July 4 events. Daytona Beach (daytonabeach.com) also will have July 4 fireworks after a free Eagles tribute band concert at its bandshell.
Three days of events — called 4th on Flagler — in West Palm Beach (wpb.org) will include the annual BBQ Brews & Blues July 3 and a fireworks display along the Intracoastal Waterway July 4. But events that weekend aren't all about kicking back. On July 5, West Palm Beach will hold the War Games, a fitness competition between branches of the military.
In the Keys, the Super Boat International Offshore Races run July 3-5, with powerboat racing action in Marathon, where boaters line up each year to watch fireworks after dark (floridakeysmarathon.com).
If you find a minor league baseball team playing at home, fireworks frequently follow, such as the July 4 display presented by the Fort Myers Miracle after its game at Hammond Stadium (fortmyers-sanibel.com).
A kids fishing tournament is part of the daylong July 4 celebration during Mexico Beach's Blast on the Beach (mexicobeach.com). Pie-eating and pie-making contests are part of the third annual Key Lime Festival July 2-4 in Key West (keylimefestival.com).
Theme park action
Central Florida theme parks are planning extras for guests, included in admission.
Through the magic of 3-D glasses, Lego bricks will appear to explode during the Red, Brick and Boom fireworks display at Legoland Florida in Winter Haven (florida.legoland.com) July 4-6.
SeaWorld Orlando's (seaworldparks.com) Summer Nights show will include a special Fourth of July display set to patriotic music.
Walt Disney World Resort (disneyworld.disney.go.com) July 4 festivities include holiday versions of its fireworks and nighttime shows at Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios.
Universal Orlando Resort's Universal 360: A Cinesphere Spectacular will be tweaked for the Fourth (universalorlando.com). Plus, there will be fireworks around Lake Eola in downtown Orlando (visitorlando.com).
For a unique twist on July 4 celebrations, there's a sci-fi theme to the fireworks, plus a costume contest, in the town of Celebration (celebrationtowncenter.com), near Disney.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
