2015 July 4th Fireworks Guide

Boom! Your fireworks plans are in the bag, Americans!

July 3, 2015; 8:29 AM • by Susan Howson

America’s finest holiday, Independence Day is a day when, surely, we can find something to agree on. Here are some suggestions:

• Parties are cool, do you agree?
• Fireworks are really beautiful, do you agree?
• Man, we are lucky to live in America, one of the easiest countries to live in despite its many, many polarizing issues, do you agree?
• It’s super cool that we (with the help of some other people) secured our independence and came up with some great ideas that have inspired democracy the world over, do you agree?

Let us group together and “Oooooohhhhhh” in unison, like true Americans!

RVA Fireworks on the James — July 3rd

The state’s largest fireworks show (says Venture Richmond), this wizardry is designed by the Gruccis of New York City, home to a highly concentrated number of Americans. It’s designed to be viewed from all 360 degrees, so you can watch it from wherevs and know you’re still getting the Full Effect. There’s also a music simulcast from WRIR FM, 97.3.

Details

• Event begins at 6:00 PM
• Fireworks begin at 9:15 PM
• Many parking options exist (as well as road closings)

Recommended viewing sites

• Brown’s Island (the official site, with food vendors, see site for rules and regs)
• Manchester
• Chimborazo Park
• The Virginia War Memorial, where the City will be sponsoring a free event that includes the Richmond Brass & Percussion Consort and some food trucks!
• RVA Paddlesports has a sweet idea: they’ll paddle you out to a deserted island in the middle of the river, feed you Goatocado bowls, fruit, and hot dogs, make you s’mores, and watch these fireworks with you, and then paddle you back. It costs $89 per person ($159 for two tickets), and sounds like just about the chillest, most beautiful way to celebrate that I’ve ever heard of.
• The Genworth Financial 32nd Annual Celebrate Freedom Independence Day Concert is more than just a mouthful to say. It exists on a great spot for watching fireworks. More on this in our separate piece about not necessarily fireworky ways to celebrate the day.

Dogwood Dell 4th of July Celebration — July 4th

This event draws many Americans with its live patriotic music–provided by Richmond Concert Band and Carillon bells–and its beautiful surroundings. And its fireworks of course. We recommend bringing chairs and blankets and picnic baskets full of berry pies.

Details

• Concert begins at 7:30 PM
• Fireworks begin at dusk (we’ll say 8:30, just to be on the safe side)

Recommended viewing sites

• Dogwood Dell, obviously • 1300 Blanton Avenue
• Anywhere in Byrd Park that has a good view
• Somewhere on Riverside drive across the river

Goochland County Fireworks — July 4th

Head out to Goochland, which may be closer to some of you Short Pump Americans anyway, and enjoy fireworks with much less light pollution and many more cricket sounds.

Details

• Fireworks begin at 9:00 PM
• No alcohol, please

Recommended viewing sites

• Goochland Sports Complex, 1800 Sandy Hook Road
• Goochland Elementary, Middle, and High School Complex — 3150 River Road West

Kings Dominion Nights of Fire — Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays throughout the summer

Your theme park day will end in a fiery inferno–of controlled gunpowder in airborne displays! As you wearily trudge with all of the other Americans who have spent their day riding some of the best roller coasters in the world (Volcano forever!) towards the entrance, stop and marvel at the 9:55 PM fireworks show. The 4th of July is, in fact, a Saturday, but you could spend your Friday doing this as well. And Sunday too.

Details

• Included with normal park ticket
• Fireworks begin at 9:55 PM, park closes at 10:00 PM

Recommended viewing sites

• The Eiffel Tower, I mean, right?
• Upside-down from the Berserker
• Not the Volcano

Independence Day Celebration and Superblast Saturday with the Flying Squirrels — July 4th

The Akron Rubberducks dare to take on the Squirrels in front of hundreds of cheering Americans who will be whipped into a patriotic frenzy. Good luck, Rubberducks, and sorry about that name. Fireworks follow the game!

Details

• At time of writing, tickets still exist and will cost you $12
• The game begins at 6:05 PM
• Fireworks begin as soon as humanly possible (sometimes baseball takes forever, but that is just the American way)

Recommended viewing sites

• Any seat at the Diamond, but choose your bathroom breaks carefully. You may miss it.
• The July 4th celebration at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, 2408 Ownby Lane
• Venues in Scott’s Addition that provide an unobstructed Easterly view

Chesterfield County Fourth of July Celebration

As an American who grew up in Chesterfield County and spent one Independence Day in high school stuck in traffic trying to exit this event, I can tell you that it was worth it. Bring the B-52s Greatest Hits with you in a Discman so that you can recapture my specific memory. Nice rural-ish setting and plenty of room to find a seat, assuming you get there at a reasonable time, which I’d recommend to be like, 7:00 PM. Blankets and such are a great idea. So is a cooler full of cold non-alcoholic beverages and maybe some sandwiches.

Details

• Chesterfield County Fairgrounds, 10300 Courthouse Road
• Fireworks begin at dusk

Brandermill July 4th Celebration

If you are a resident of Brandermill, America, you may take part in the July 4th festivities. Those suckers will explode over the reservoir in a beautiful fashion. There will also be patriotic tunes.

Details

• Beginning at 5:00 PM and ending at 9:45 PM, Millridge Road will only allow access to Brandermill Residents who show hangtags or driver’s license with a Brandermill Woods
• You can get around this by getting a reservation at the Boathouse at Sunday Park
• Fireworks begin at 9:15 PM
• There are good reasons for all these rules, but it is a sad story that has been covered many times before, so we won’t go into it

Recommended viewing sites

• Sunday Park, 4602 Millridge Parkway
• Your own deck or backyard, provided you are a Brandermill resident

— ∮∮∮ —

And as always, if you take a photograph using a flash during a fireworks display, you will feel my hot breath upon your neck, and my whispered message in your ear, “A flash not only hurts the photo you are trying to take, it detracts from other viewers’ experiences.” And then I will give you a brief shoulder rub in apology for possibly hurting your feelings.

July 3, 2015 8:29 AM · in East End Daily, Fan of the Fan, and more 3