After six years without a pyrotechnic show, the island community will celebrate Independence Day with bombs bursting in air. The rockets will light up the sky on the evening of Sunday, July 3, 2016 (the 4th gets booked years in advance, people), and kick-off the two-day party for the nation's birthday.
It's been a long road to get here. Suffice it to say that bringing fireworks back to the island has required the cooperative efforts of the National Park Service, the Hyde County board of commissioners, Hyde County manager Bill Rich, Hyde County Emergency Management, Ocracoke's Occupancy Tax board, OCBA and local businesses, the NCDOT ferry division, the OVFD, the Dare County fire marshal, a pyrotechnic company, and dedicated citizens Teresa O'Neal and Darlene Styron. Whew! (Full disclosure: in my other job working for OCBA, and as a communitarian, I was also involved in the process.)
The 18-minute-ish show will light up the night sky with 800 shells in all colors of the rainbow. The contract promises "Color Changing Star Shells, Crossettes, Twitter Glittering, Rings, and Color Changing Chrysanthemums." How cool is that? The shooting site is the big NPS parking lot at the NPS boat ramp; the shells will go up over three times the height of the water tower and be visible from all around the harbor. The grand finale will amaze and astound. Ooooh– ahhhhh.
The Hyde County board of commissioners voted unanimously at their August 2015 meeting to sponsor and act as certificate holder for fireworks on Ocracoke in 2016. The county contracted for a July 3rd pyrotechnic display with Pyrotecnico, the same fireworks company that puts on the show in Avon on the 4th. Ocracoke's Occupancy Tax board voted to fund the $20,000 price tag. Additional charges will be event insurance for $660, and $1100 for the special use permit from NPS. OCBA, which sponsors the other Independence Day events, will pick up those tabs.
Thanks to the efforts of Supt. Dave Hallac and Ocracoke’s head ranger, Ed Fuller, we were able to explore all the scenarios for using Park property. After much consideration and discussion of safety, setbacks, logistics, law enforcement, and spectator enjoyment, the group agreed that the big parking area by the boat ramp is the most feasible site for fireworks. (See aerial map below.)
With safety zones in place, the fireworks can be launched 300’-500’ into the air, making them two to three times higher than the water tower and visible from all over the harbor area and village.
The Independence Day celebration doesn’t end with the Grand Finale in the sky. On the 4th, events start early and go all day long: the Boy Scouts hoist Old Glory at the flag raising ceremony, the lighthouse is open for viewing, there'll be a traditional Ocracoke square dance, and live music, a sand sculpture contest, a parade, and a special event that we're really excited about, but not able to announce quite yet. Stay tuned to the Current for the full schedule of events when we get it all worked out. Of course, it's never too early to start planning your parade float – all are welcome to enter and there are cash prizes!
