By Rick Madewell
Assistant Editor

St. Cloud’s and Celebration’s already crowd-filled annual Fourth of July events could wind up hosting several thousand more spectators this year because of canceled holiday festivities in Kissimmee.

David Lane, president of the St. Cloud/Greater Osceola Chamber of Commerce, said he foresees probably another 10,000 people will show up to St. Cloud’s all-day celebration since the city of Kissimmee scrapped its annual Fourth of July activities due to construction work for a new park at the lakefront.

But Lane added that should not be a problem because of the tremendous cooperation with the city’s police department.

“I met with our police department and they’re going to be prepared. There will be more police out on patrol,” he said. “They want this to be an event people can enjoy.”

Lane said parking would be closed along the lakefront except for a large, vacant lot at New York Avenue and Lakeshore Boulevard for handicapped parking only. All state-named streets that feed into the boulevard will allow for parking on both sides to accommodate the large number of motorists expected. Although the expanse of the viewing area is about two-and-a-half miles, Lane said eight blocks running from the downtown area to lakeshore are critical with the flow of traffic. Police also will be stationed along 13th Street, also known as U.S. Highway 192, to direct traffic.

“Safety is a priority,” Lane said. “We’ve done this procedure before and it worked out excellent.”

The big show of the day – the fireworks display – starts at 9:15 p.m. But the entire day will be filled with several events leading up to it.

At the amphitheater near the lakefront, a reading of the Declaration of Independence by Kathy Delozier will begin at 8:15 p.m.

The Community Choir, with 60 voices, will sing at around 8:25 p.m. Lane said, and there will be two, 20-foot screens showing videos as the choir sings.

Local country musician Kenyon Lockry and his band will perform from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The opening ceremony for the day will start at noon and there’s a good chance Abraham Lincoln will show up, according to Lane. There also will be hot air balloons for rides at 6 p.m. and possibly 6 a.m., he added.

During the day, there will be a wife-carrying race and a bed race. House Party Entertainment DJ Victor Henry will emcee during the day.

As of a month before the big day, there were already 27 vendors locked in for the event, Lane said.

Celebration

In Celebration, bigger crowds also are foreseen for its July 4 event, which has a theme of “A Flashback 4th of July.”

Mike Nunez, spokesman for Lexin Capital, the public relations firm for Celebration, said the festivities, which typically draw between 30,000 and 35,000 “should experience greater numbers than in previous years.”

But, he added, he doesn’t expect any problems will develop from the anticipated larger crowd.

“Our crowd size peaks and dwindles throughout the course of the event and we don’t foresee any significant problems with handling the crowd size,” he said. “July 4 falling on a Monday will also naturally have smaller crowd sizes than those that occur on a weekend, like the past few years.”

Nunez said working with the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office helps greatly in ensuring the security of all of those who will be attending.

One of the biggest highlights of the event this year, Nunez said, will be the live appearance of A Flock of Seagulls.

“When you think of the ’80s, who can forget the unmistakable sounds of A Flock of Seagulls. They are synonymous with the ’80s and ‘I Ran’ was prominently featured in ‘The Hangover 2.’ They will forever be linked to the ’80s, and we will have them live in Celebration.”

Celebration’s schedule of events include:

9 a.m. – July 4 Parade in Celebration Town Center.

5 p.m. – Park N Ride service begins. Buses will pick up and deliver visitors to 215 Celebration Place.

5:30 p.m. – Event opens.

6 p.m. – Kattyshack performs.

8:15 p.m. – Costume contest.

8:30 p.m. – A Flock of Seagulls performs.

9:30 p.m. – Fireworks.

10 p.m. – Kattyshack.

11 p.m. – Event closes.

The “A Flashback 4th of July” in Celebration will feature an ’80s costume contest, and guests are asked to come dressed to impress. The community touts, “It’s like your ’80s prom, only better!”