Hartsville Fireworks Festival is July 2
By JIM FAILE
Hartsville’s seventh annual Family Fireworks Festival for the Fourth of July weekend is coming and will offer something new this year – a carnival.
This year’s festival, one of the Pee Dee’s largest fireworks displays, takes place on July 2, since the Fourth falls on a Sunday. Again this year, the festival will take place on the 200-plus acre campus of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Hartsville.
The Greater Hartsville Chamber of Commerce and Emmanuel Baptist Church host the event each year.
The festival gets under way at 6 p.m. and continues until 9:30 p.m. with the fireworks display taking place at about 9:15 p.m., shortly after dark, according to Dr. Gary Colboch, pastor of Emmanuel and one of the festival organizers.
Recording artist Lesa Hudson and her band will again headline this year’s entertainment.
The evening will feature food and a variety of craft and merchandise vendors around the campus, rides and games for children, pony rides, inflatables, a Koss Motorsports car show, a hotdog eating contest sponsored by Sonic Drive-In, a donut eating contest sponsored by Krispy Kreme and a pie eating contest sponsored by McLeod Farms.
State Sen. Gerald Malloy will again emcee the event.
This year, a three-night carnival will be included as a part of the event. The carnival will operate July 1-3 at Emmanuel.
The carnival, which will include a Ferris wheel, carousel and other rides, will operate from 6 to 10 p.m. on July 1 and July 3 and from 5 p.m. until on July 2, according to Colboch.
Tickets are required for admission to the carnival and are on sale now at a price of 20 tickets for $12. That represents a savings of 40 percent off the regular price of $1 per ticket, but it only lasts until Wednesday. Starting July 1, the price for tickets goes back to $1 each.
Tickets are available now at the Greater Hartsville Chamber of Commerce at 214 N. Fifth St. or at the Emmanuel Baptist Church office at 949 N. Marquis Highway, Hartsville.
Admission to the fireworks festival on July 2 is free, but a parking fee of $2 per vehicle will be charged for parking on the campus. Organizers said that helps cover the cost of the fireworks and the cost of professional training for workers required by the state to shoot the fireworks.
“This is one of the largest fireworks festivals in the Pee Dee,” Colboch said. “It’s a good family event, and we encourage folks to come out, bring the kids and have a good time.”
“It’s turned out to be a great community event,” said Sharman Poplava, president of the Greater Hartsville Chamber of Commerce. “We encourage everyone to come out. It gets bigger and bigger every year, and having the carnival this year will add a lot to it we think.”
Lawn chairs and blankets are welcome. No coolers, alcohol or pets are allowed, and law enforcement officers will be on hand to provide security.
Major sponsors for this year’s festival are Sonoco, Raceway Automotive Group, the City of Hartsville, LifeCare Hospice and Fitness World.
For more information, call the Greater Hartsville Chamber of Commerce at (843) 332-6401 or Emmanuel Baptist Church at (843) 332-2271.