BOOM: Moses Lake ready to get patriotic for July 4
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 4 months AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | July 1, 2024 3:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — The nation’s birthday will be celebrated with the sounds of the 133D Army National Guard Band and a fireworks display over Moses Lake on July 3. “Red, White and Boom!” also will feature food vendors and the Moses Lake Recreation Department’s mobile recreation van in the park Wednesday evening.
The 7 p.m. concert is free; the fireworks follow at about 10 p.m. Events are in McCosh Park, 401 W. Fourth Ave.
The performance is part of the free summer concert series sponsored by the Moses Lake Creative District.
Doug Coutts, director of Moses Lake Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services, said 2024 is the second year the city has sponsored the fireworks show and music in the park. Typically the Independence Day celebration is the weekend prior to July 4, but Coutts told Moses Lake City Council members that with July 4 on a Thursday the timing was bad for either weekend.
City officials attempted to get a fireworks show for July 4, Coutts said.
“We did not get the fireworks on July 4 because the fireworks companies (are) booked up on July 4. We cannot get July 4,” he said.
Jenni Shelton, communications coordinator for the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center, said the 133D National Guard Band is actually three bands in one. “The General’s 7” will feature the traditional jazz sound from the early 20th Century, made famous by the musicians of New Orleans. As its name suggests, the “Brassquatch” band emphasizes the brass, infused with rock, pop and funk. “Full Metal Racket” focuses on classic rock, country and pop.
The mobile rec van tours Moses Lake parks to bring the games to the children. The van will be filled with board games, outdoor games and game balls.
The fireworks begin at dusk, around 10 p.m. Typically the fireworks display is launched from the shore, but 2024 will be different.
“We are actually going to have barges in the lake this year,” Coutts said. “We are loading them in McCosh Park, then they’ll be towed out into the lake, anchored down, and we’ll fire them from the lake itself,”
It’s a tradition for some to watch the fireworks from the water, and Coutts said people should take the launch point into account when they pick an observation spot.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].
Independence Day celebrations
July 4
George
George Community Hall
403 W. Montmorency Blvd and other locations
Music, parade, cherry pie, fireworks
Othello
Lions Park
815 Pine St., and other locations
Parade, music, contests, children’s games, sports tournaments, fireworks
July 6
Suds ‘N Sun
Soap Lake
Main Avenue East and other locations
Parade, music, children’s games, sports tournaments, fireworks
NOTE: Fireworks will not be permitted in the park at Desert Aire this year per the homeowners association.
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