Fourth of July parade, fireworks, return to Fort Myers Beach
The Fourth of July parade and fireworks show will return to Fort Myers Beach this Saturday to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
The Fourth of July parade will start on Estero Boulevard from the Bay Oaks Recreational Campus on Oaks Street 10 a.m., head down School St. and onto Estero Boulevard down to near Times Square.
The parade will be followed later in the day by a “Freedom by the Bay” event honoring veterans at 4 p.m. with a ceremony and concert at Bayside Veterans Park off Old San Carlos Boulevard, near Snug Harbor Waterfront Restaurant. The concert will begin at 5 and run until 8 p.m.
The fireworks show will take place at dusk from a barge near the Fort Myers Beach Pier close to Times Square and Lynn Hall Memorial Park, around 9 p.m. The parking lot at Lynn Hall Memorial Park is closed due to construction being conducted by contracts for Lee County for a new restroom facility.
The Matanzas Pass Bridge will be closed from 9 a.m. until noon for the parade in the morning, and again at night from 9 to 11 for the fireworks.
The fireworks and parade are made possible through a fundraising effort by the local business association What’s Up FMB. The amount covers the fireworks, as well as other costs, such as funding for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office detail. The Town of Fort Myers Beach Council had cut fireworks out of its budget last year due to fiscal considerations.
Fort Myers Beach Manager Will McKannay’s staff is overseeing preparations for the parade.
“We’re looking forward to a great day,” McKannay said. “We are looking forward to everything that Fort Myers Beach is used to” with the parade, he said.
“We welcome everybody to return to Fort Myers Beach,” McKannay said.
McKannay, a retired U.S. Army colonel and garrison commander, said the veteran’s event at Bayside Veteran’s Park will honor veterans from around Southwest Florida.
For McKannay, the 250th anniversary of the founding of the country is a special moment.
“For all of us, it’s significant. The experiment that still is the USA,” McKannay said. “The 250th year is definitely something that should be proud of. For me, it’s significant because I spent 30 years of my life of my life protecting those freedoms so it has extra special meaning to me.”
Fort Myers Beach Parks and Recreation Manager Neil Mathes said more than two dozen participating groups and organizations are expected to participate in the parade. The parade will start from the Bay Oaks Recreational Campus on Oaks Street and head down Estero Boulevard to the Times Square area.
Dawn Miller, the co-founder of What’s Up FMB, said the fundraising for the fireworks was done through the collection of donations from local businesses and individual contributions, as well as promotions by local businesses in which they donated a portion of sales for the fireworks.
Miller said the first 100 veterans who attend the “Freedom by the Bay” veteran’s ceremony at Bayside Veteran’s Park, will receive a special gift from What’s Up FMB. Miller said she is most excited about the “Freedom by the Bay” event.
Miller, who also made a large donation for the fireworks with her husband Mike Miller, along with other local businessowners, said that having a fireworks show and parade was important to the community.
“There was no reason why we should not have the festivities this year considering it’s 250 years,” Miller said. “We are super-excited about it. The parade, we certainly could use some more participation in it.”