It will be all about the boom again at Vancouver’s July 4 fireworks show.
And once again, it will be free.
This year’s Independence Day celebration at Fort Vancouver will follow the format that debuted last year. That means an evening event, focused on the 10:05 p.m. fireworks display, rather than the all-day celebrations that had marked the holiday in Vancouver for decades.
“As we looked at what the community wants most on Independence Day, everything points to a vibrant fireworks show,” Mike True, CEO and president of The Historic Trust, said Wednesday.
The Historic Trust presents the annual event along with its partners, the National Park Service and the city of Vancouver.
The organizers received a lot of feedback through surveys after the 2017 show, True said. In addition to a focus on the fireworks, people definitely liked the idea of a free Fourth of July show, True said.
“We are rebranding it as a fireworks show vs. an all-day festival,” True said.
The official name is Vancouver’s Fireworks Spectacular at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site presented by Columbia Credit Union.
With no food service or live entertainment, organizers recommend that people arrive after 6 p.m. on July 4 (which falls on a Wednesday this year).
Gates will be in place at 8 a.m., however, and bags will be checked all day. Vehicle access also will be restricted beginning at 8 a.m.
The fireworks will be launched again from Pearson Field — some rising to 500 feet.
With the citywide ban on retail fireworks, Vancouver residents are no longer allowed to set off fireworks in their neighborhoods. But the fireworks show means they can still enjoy July 4 pyrotechnics, Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle said.
“Vancouver is pleased to support the Fireworks Spectacular to help preserve fireworks as part of annual Independence Day traditions,” McEnerny-Ogle said in a news release.
During the day
People who do arrive early will be able to enjoy plenty of heritage.
The Historic Trust will offer tours of the Marshall House, 1301 Officers Row, and Providence Academy, 400 E. Evergreen Blvd.
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site will be open on July 4. The replica Fort Vancouver stockade, 1001 E. Fifth St., will be open from noon to 8 p.m.; living-history activities will include black-powder shooting demonstrations.
Pearson Air Museum, 1115 E. Fifth St., also will be open from noon to 8 p.m. The Visitor Center, 1501 E. Evergreen Blvd., will be open from noon to 5 p.m.
The Friends of Fort Vancouver bookstore and gift shop at the Visitors Center will be open from noon to 5 p.m.; another Friends store inside Fort Vancouver will be open from noon to 8 p.m.
Free C-Tran shuttles will run every 15 minutes from two stops: Fisher’s Landing Transit Center on Southeast 162nd Street, and the 99th Street Transit Center. Shuttle service to the fireworks will be offered from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Return service will begin immediately following the fireworks show.
While the event is free, donations will be collected at the gates; a portion of the proceeds will support the Lower Columbia Veterans Coalition, consisting of the Community Military Appreciation Committee, Vancouver Barracks Military Association, Combat Veterans International Chapter 9, Buffalo Soldiers Moses Williams Pacific Northwest Chapter and Special Forces Association.
