Les Jones

Home Life > July 4th Fireworks

SouthKnoxBubba has pics of the Alcoa fireworks show. I love the Alcoa duckpond shows. It's a good fireworks display, but it has a small-town feel.

Even smaller shows are out there. My brother went to Walland tonight for their fireworks on the river. Four years ago Jay and I drove to Fontana to see their show. As a kid some of my years at Camp Montvale intersected with July 4th and we watched fireworks at the athletic field/rifle range.

The smallest town I've ever been in for July 4th was Portal, Arizona (population a couple hundred). Portal is a desert post office and grocery store town, but with a high percentage of PhDs. I was there for a couple summers when I was doing research at the American Museum of National History's Southwestern Research Station. The town even put on a parade during the day. The station's director dressed up as Uncle Sam and walked on stilts.

We're doing what we did last year, and going to a friend's house in the DuPont community for a cookout and private but impressive fireworks show. Shooting may be involved.