JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Fourth of July celebration at the Riverfront Plaza happened Sunday night though weather caused some unexpected delays.
Lightning delayed the celebration by two hours, but the event still continued as planned, and the fireworks went off without a hitch.
There was also a Fourth of July firework show at these other locations in Jacksonville:
- St. Johns Town Center
- Downtown Riverfront Plaza
- The Avenues Mall
- Ed Austin Regional Park
- FSCJ North Campus
- Trinity Baptist Church
This is what brought William Monsalve and his family to the Riverfront Plaza.
”[I brought my kids] so they could see the fireworks and see this beautiful sight,” he said.
”This is the first time we’ve actually gotten to do it out here,” said Paola Lorenzo with the Sports and Entertainment Division for the City of Jacksonville. But mother nature also lit the sky, and dumped some rain - even flooding North Liberty and East 10th Street a couple of miles away.
So, the festivities got started two hours behind schedule at 7 p.m.
″We wanted to make sure there was no lightning in the area,” Lorenzo explained.
But people were quick to come out and get the party started.
”See if the weather gets better and hopefully everybody has a great time,” Monsalve pointed out.
A concert, food vendors, and even bounce houses all added to the fun. ”Let’s see what happens,” Monsalve said.
Proving rain or shine: “the show goes on.” This celebration has been a whole year in the planning. Although the City of Jacksonville told Action News Jax it wants to bring the celebration back next year, the location is still to be determined.