Tomorrow Nassau County will be popping. Fireworks, that is.
Nassau County has teamed up with the towns of Callahan and Hilliard and the Northeast Florida Fairgrounds to bring an extra special Independence Day celebration to the community.
Shawna Gugliazza is Callahan’s town clerk and a coordinator for the Light up the Sky Independence Day Celebration. She said among the standard elements of the event, this year’s event will feature several new additions.
Along with the classic inclusions like food vendors, face painting and the fireworks display, there will be live music by local artists, clowns, a photo booth, a watermelon eating contest, an apple pie baking contest, a “Patriotic People” costume contest and other games.
Gugliazza said she wanted to remind attendees that the fairgrounds midway is open this year and she encourages the public to come in to enjoy the festivities.
“Everybody, with their friends and their families, they’ll do cornhole … and they’ll set up in the parking lot — well you can bring your chairs and your blankets, and even your cornhole boards, and bring them inside the midway and everybody can celebrate together,” she said.
The event will be held at the Northeast Florida Fairgrounds in Callahan, 543378 US-1. The gates open at 4 p.m., live music starts at 4:30 p.m. and the fireworks display starts at 9 p.m.
“Thank you to sponsors, thank you to first responders and thank you to the Nassau County Sheriff’s Department, everybody did well working together as a team, it’s going to be a great day,” Gugliazza said.
The 2024 event is ramped up from previous years. It is coupled with the yearlong celebratory efforts to honor the county’s bicentennial. For the last few years, Callahan and Hilliard have partnered with the fairground on the event. This is the first year the county is involved.
Gugliazza said the funds the county added went to cover expenses for fireworks and the sheriff’s department, “in hopes that it would make the event a little bit bigger for the bicentennial event for this side of the county.”
She said, “I think everyone, as far as my team, and Hilliard and the county across the board just did a great job coming together … we all, I think, tackled it very well together.”
County staff will be at the celebration in the Nassau Vision 2050 tent, looking to gain more input from the community for the Nassau County Vision 2050 plan. The county says “cool swag” will be available for those who come to give their input.
“This is our third large-scale event organized in celebration of Nassau County’s bicentennial and gathering community feedback for development of the Vision 2050 Plan,” said Brandy Carvalho, director of Strategic Advancement & Economic Resources for Nassau County. “We held the kickoff in January in Yulee, Opening of the Beaches in May in Fernandina and now partnering with the Towns of Callahan and Hilliard to bring the best Independence Day yet.”
Vision 2050 is an 18-month-long process that has involved a heavy influence of feedback from residents, businesses, stakeholders, local leaders and even tourists. Vision 2050 became a necessity to the county when officials decided the current 2032 plan did not sufficiently plan for the continued growth of the population and tourism, growing at a never-before-seen rate in the area.
Other local Fourth of July celebrations include Red, White and Deep Blue July 4th Celebration at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, the 4th of July Bash at Omni Amelia Island Resort and the Hometown 4th of July in Historic Downtown Fernandina Beach.
Tickets are required for the celebrations at The Ritz-Carlton and Omni, but the downtown Fernandina Beach celebration, put on by Light Up Amelia, is free to the public. There will be music and vendors and a fireworks display at 9 p.m. The festivities will be from 6-9:30 p.m. in Downtown.
achandler@fbnewsleader.com