PANAMA CITY — Bay County was locked and loaded in anticipation for an explosive Fourth of July fireworks finale Friday.
With American flags sticking out of just about everywhere and patriotic hymns pumping from the traffic-packed roadways, more than 175,000 visitors settled in for the holiday weekend, according to Tourist Development Council figures. Cities around the county took advantage of ideal conditions by hosting several activities throughout the day, culminating in three competing firework shows in the evening.
More definite numbers on the amount of influx into the county were difficult to pin down because the TDC derives their numbers from room stays. People staying with relatives or day-tripping could cause those numbers to be much higher.
“That number could be low for this year based on traffic alone,” said David Demarst, TDC spokesman.
Throughout the day, chicken-wing and watermelon-eating contests, live music and a number of other Independence Day themed events took place. Pier Park hosted its annual “Star Spangled Spectacular” with a salute to the U.S. military, children’s activities, carnival games and street vendors from local shops.
Two pirates twisted balloon animals near a dunk tank on Pier Park’s main drag for hundreds of children in town for a homerun tournament taking place simultaneously.
“We’ve mostly been making pirate swords,” said Cristin Finley, identifying herself by her pirate name: Gypsy. “Parrots are a close second, though.”
Beach hoteliers had maxed out occupancies before Friday, and TDC officials said they were encouraging people to look east over the Hathaway Bridge.
Retired Sgt. Joshua Cope served as grand marshal of the Fourth of July parade in Lynn Haven with his wife, Erica, and their three children. The Independence Day Celebration, “Salute the Stars & Stripes,”held in Sharon Sheffield Park and A.L. Kinsaul Park lasted all day Friday with a flag-raising ceremony and a youth bike parade for children 12 and younger and ended with fireworks at 9 p.m.
The Panama City Marina’s annual “Salute to Freedom” hosted numerous vendors selling everything from fried elephant ears to home-brewed sweet tea. Festivities with bounce houses for the kids and live music precluded the city’s $25,000 firework show, which was halted last year by torrential rains.
“Last Fourth of July, in total, our sales came out to $0,” said Stan Jones, Panama City marina director.
As people began filing onto the Downtown Marina, and the work day for the marina came to a close Friday, the marina had $7,500 in sales. Thursday’s sales closed out at about $8,500.
In total, more than $110,000 in fireworks went up in the sky by the night’s end. But fireworks shows and other attractions are scheduled to continue for the weekend.
Saturday fireworks
The Grand Lagoon Coalition of restaurants, charters and clubs in Panama City Beach will have events 4-11 p.m. Saturday at various locations on Grand Lagoon, making for an evening of more music and fireworks. The fireworks will be visible from all waterfront points on Grand Lagoon, four commercial marinas and the lawn at Treasure Island, formerly the site for the old Treasure Ship Restaurant.
Boardwalk Beach Resort will host its eighth annual “Beach Bash & Light Up the Gulf” fireworks show, beginning in the morning with patriotic-themed family fun and ending the night with a bang at 8:30 p.m. The event is open to the public and everyone is invited to bring a beach chair and blanket for a front-row seat.