Fireworks

As the heat subsided, the July Fourth crowd at Hagerstown's Fairgrounds Park swelled on Wednesday, eager for an evening of fun and fireworks. People were spread out on blankets and under canopies throughout the park, playing games, picnicking and enjoying a sticky, lazy day. Live music filled the air, including covers of Junior Walker & the All-Stars' “Shotgun” and Van Morrison's “Domino.” Larry Lee Carter of Hagerstown stood...

HAGERSTOWN -- Under an uninterrupted sun and cloudless sky, canopies sprang up above the crunching brown grass Sunday as vendors and early birds set up for the Fourth of July fireworks at Fairgrounds Park. By 5 p.m., as the pace of people entering the park began to pick up, the temperature was 96 degrees, but several families had been set up for hours. "This is the best thing Hagerstown does for free," said Donna Thompson, who was with a couple dozen family members under four canopies.

Tuesday, July 4 The City of Hagerstown will have fireworks - 15,996 shells in 30 minutes - at Fairgrounds Park at 9:30 p.m. Festivities begin at 6 p.m. The Shades will perform oldies until 9:30 p.m. There will be children's activities. Trolley service from the former Ames parking lot off Dual Highway to the fairgrounds will be available from 6 p.m. until the end of the event. Call 301-739-8577, ext. 116, or go to www.hagerstownmd.org . The rain date for fireworks is 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.

It's a bird. It's a plane. Wait, there are planes if you're at Fairgrounds Park on Saturday. But you can catch fireworks at any of these places as we celebrate our independence and the nation's birthday. Now that's what I call birthday candles. Here's just a sample of what's going on. FRIDAY, JULY 3 · Independence Jam at Plumb Grove, corner of North Martin Street and Broadfording Road, Clear Spring. Starts at 5 p.m. Bluegrass and country concert begins at 6. Fireworks, expected to last 30 minutes, start at 9:30 p.m. Buffet-style food includes steamers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches.

Donna Bean and Donald White will be easy to spot at the Maryland Symphony Orchestra performance Saturday. They'll be the ones in a tuxedo and gown, making their first public appearance as husband and wife. Bean and White, of Madison, Wis., will be married Saturday afternoon in State Line, Pa., with about 100 guests in attendance. After the reception, a chartered bus will take them and their guests to Antietam National Battlefield. Bean, 23, and White, 30, are letting their attendants decide whether to wear their formal attire to Antietam.

Rain that moved into the Tri-State area Friday evening forced the postponement of several area fireworks displays. Fireworks at War Memorial Park in Martinsburg, W.Va., and at Memorial Park in Chambersburg, Pa., have been rescheduled for tonight at 9:30. The fireworks display at Byron Memorial Park in Williamsport will not be held this weekend, according to Town Councilman Jeff Cline. He said the display will be Aug. 20 as a kickoff to the annual Williamsport Days celebration.

The nation's independence will be celebrated with music, food, festivals and fireworks at various Tri-State area events. Friday The Shepherdstown (W.Va.) Fire Department's carnival will have fireworks at 10:45 p.m. The carnival grounds are behind the fire department on W.Va. 45 west of Shepherdstown. For more information, call 304-876-2311. The Gettysburg Fire Department Carnival will have fireworks at 11 p.m. at Gettysburg Recreation Park. For more information, call 1-800-337-5015.

The nation's independence will be celebrated with music, food, festivals and fireworks at various Tri-State area events. Friday, July 1 The Shepherdstown (W.Va.) Fire Department's carnival will have fireworks at 10:45 p.m. The carnival grounds are behind the fire department on W.Va. 45 west of Shepherdstown. For more information, call 1-304-876-2311. The Gettysburg Fire Department Carnival will have fireworks at 11 p.m. at Gettysburg Recreation Park. For more information, call 1-800-337-5015.

WILLIAMSPORT - The threat of storms did not deter people from visiting Byron Memorial Park on Wednesday, where the town held its sixth annual Fireworks in the Park festival. "We've had some clouds hovering, but I don't think it has stopped anyone from coming," said Jeff Cline, festival organizer and a town councilman. The celebration began at 6:30 a.m. with a pancake breakfast sponsored by the Williamsport Volunteer Fire Department and the "Race for Freedom" 5K, which started at 8:30 a.m. Cline said more than 360 people attended the pancake breakfast, and more than 120 ran in the 5K. "This has really turned into an all-day festival," said Cline, who noted that this was the first year in which bands were scheduled to play all afternoon.

Chris Marrero is a man with an agenda. The ultimate goal is to play for the Washington Nationals. But on Friday, the Hagerstown Suns right fielder was living for the moment. And he made sure that moment was the final one of the game. Marerro blasted the first pitch he received from Delmarva reliever Jose Maria. It curled around the left-field foul pole for a 12th-inning, one-out, walk-off home run for a 9-8 victory before 3,379 fireworks-starved fans at Municipal Stadium.

The city of Martinsburg announced Friday that it will sponsor a Fourth of July fireworks display next month. Set to begin at 9:30 p.m., the fireworks show will be launched from the same location near War Memorial Park as previous years. But the park will close at dusk, and no special music or entertainment is planned there for the holiday, city officials said. The park's amenities, including public swimming, mini-golf and concessions, will be open on July 4, but the pool area will not be available for viewing the fireworks display as in previous years, officials said.

The Martinsburg City Council voted unanimously Thursday night to host the community's annual Fourth of July fireworks show and obtain the required permits. City Council's 6-0 decision comes after the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Parks & Recreation Board decided in December that it would not apply for the required permits for the pyrotechnics display and would no longer hold Independence Day festivities at War Memorial Park in the hours leading up to the event. Ward 4 Councilman Roger Lewis was absent for Thursday's meeting.

A red oak tree and a picnic table at Washington County Regional Park were damaged sometime overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday, according to a news release from the Washington County Sheriff's Office. The tree was pushed over far enough to snap it in half, and a bench section of the picnic table had been pulled off, deputies said. Several Bud Light Platinum beer bottles and fireworks also were found in the area, deputies said. The incident is believed to have taken place between Tuesday at 8 p.m. and Wednesday at 6:30 a.m. at the park along Mount Aetna Road, deputies said.

As the heat subsided, the July Fourth crowd at Hagerstown's Fairgrounds Park swelled on Wednesday, eager for an evening of fun and fireworks. People were spread out on blankets and under canopies throughout the park, playing games, picnicking and enjoying a sticky, lazy day. Live music filled the air, including covers of Junior Walker & the All-Stars' “Shotgun” and Van Morrison's “Domino.” Larry Lee Carter of Hagerstown stood...

Ominous dark clouds began rolling into the Clear Spring area around 5 p.m. Tuesday, as the town's yearly Independence Day celebration got under way on the grounds of Plumb Grove Mansion. A vendor at the seventh annual event, Sam Spinder of Old Country Kettle Korn, based in Greencastle, Pa., said it was his second year coming to the community festival, but he wasn't worried about the weather forecast. “Last year, it was kind of a similar day as it is today, but for about 30 minutes it poured like you couldn't imagine,” Spinder said.

Customary for its Fourth of July celebration, the city of Hagerstown will host its annual fireworks show at Fairgrounds Park on Wednesday night, according to a city news release. Firing up 15,996 shells over the 30-minute show, this year's display will begin at 9:30 p.m. and include a special set-piece, spelling out “Happy Birthday Hagerstown 250 Years” in honor of the city's 250th anniversary this year. A trolley service running from the shopping center at the corner of Dual Highway and South Cleveland Avenue, where Aldi and Supreme Buffet are located, will be available to shuttle people to the park starting at 6 p.m. Local TV and radio personality Lou Scally will host opening ceremonies, starting at 6 p.m. with the presentation of colors followed by the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America.” The invocation and benediction will be given by Hagerstown City Councilman Lewis C. Metzner and state Del. John Donoghue, respectively, followed by remarks by Mayor Robert E. Bruchey II. A 21-gun salute and the playing of echo taps will follow.

Friday, June 29 Smithsburg Carnival Music, amusement and food. Carnival, 6 to 11 p.m. Fireworks on Friday, June 29 at 9:30 p.m. Smithsburg Community Volunteer Fire Co. grounds, 22 N. Main St., Smithsburg. Call 301-824-2889. Saturday, June 30 Speedway fireworks 47th annual Johnny Roberts Memorial 50 Lap. Fireworks display. 7 p.m. race. Evolution Rock School to performs at 5:30 p.m. Hagerstown Speedway, 15112 National Pike, west of Hagerstown.

Name of business: Keystone Fireworks Owners: Brian and Kevin Shaub Address: 56 Executive Blvd., exit 3 off Interstate 81, Greencastle, Pa. Opening date: May 1, 2012 Products and services: Consumer fireworks Target market: Hagerstown and surrounding areas How did you get into your business, and what motivated you to start it? We started as a small novelty company selling sparklers and seasonal items. That business gradually evolved into selling the full line of consumer fireworks.

Fifteen thousand, nine hundred and ninety-six. That’s how many fireworks shells were set to explode Monday over Hagerstown from Fairgrounds Park. “People always ask why don’t we make it an even 16,000,” city Community Affairs Manager Karen Giffin said. “We don’t because people remember 15,996.” The city of Hagerstown held its 10th annual Fireworks at Fairgrounds Park Monday. Giffin estimated that 20,000 people would descend on the park by 9:30 p.m., when the fireworks show was set to begin.

As with most Americans, I’ve always been a fan of the Fourth of July holiday. I mean, seriously, what’s not to love? Cookouts, parades, hanging out with friends and family, a day off from work for most people, followed by fireworks to cap off the night. Good stuff, right? Proud to be American and all that God Bless the USA happiness. As I got older, certain parts of that mattered more than others: Sharing those cookouts with special loved ones who are no longer here, enjoying a day off with my daughter and sharing a blanket with a special someone as the rockets’ red glare exploded high above our heads.