In spite of a delay due to inclement weather, the Apopka Fourth of July event Fireworks on the 4th saw a crowd of 8,000 enjoying live music, fireworks, kids activities, and food and drink.
Held Tuesday, July 4, at the amphitheater in the Northwest Recreation Complex, Fireworks on the 4th featured “Motown Madness,” a concert of celebrity impersonators performing classic hits from the past 60 years.
Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner and the Blues Brothers made appearances at “Motown Madness,” delivering performances that involved much audience participation. The Orlando band Derek and the Slammers backed the artists.
The concert kicked off around 7 p.m. Fireworks started a little before 9 and lasted almost 20 minutes.
“The feedback for the Independence Day event has been outstanding,” Robert Sargent, city spokesman, wrote in an email. “Apopka residents love the idea of having a top-notch Independence Day celebration in their own hometown.”
Prior to the concert, Mayor Joe Kilsheimer thanked the amphitheater crowd for waiting out the rain and the thunderstorm.
“We wanted to let everybody in – believe me, we wanted to let everybody in, but we had to make sure it was safe for everybody,” he said.
According to Weather Underground, a Weather Channel subsidiary, July 4 rainfall began around 5:45 p.m. and ended at around 7 p.m. The precipitation high was 1.19 inches.
The public cooperated with the city in keeping out of Northwest Recreation Complex during the thunderstorm, which arrived in Apopka around 3:20 p.m. and ceased at 5:53 p.m.
An expanded version of this story appears on page 1A of the Friday, July 7, edition of The Apopka Chief.
