Bob Foos
Bryan Waggoner, director of parks and recreation, almost runs out of superlatives describing the success of Webb City’s first stand-alone fireworks show on July 3.
“It was a SPECTACULAR event.”
“It was a HUGE first program for us.”
“Webb City SHOWED UP!”
He says it was exciting to see King Jack Park filled up with cars parked “in every spot that wasn’t marked.”
The crowd even spilled out of the park. Waggoner says people were sitting in lawn chairs across the highway at Casey’s.
Families came early to enjoy the splash pad and playground and picnic in the pavilions.
“It was a great old-fashioned family event, with people just hanging out,” Waggoner says.
Webb City has previously put on fireworks shows to cap the Cruise-A-Palooza events, a week after the Fourth of July.
This year, on the day before the Fourth, the show was bigger and longer, and the crowd was many times larger.
The fireworks launch site was behind the lake near the dog park. Even though the required blast-safe diameter extended out farther this year because the fireworks were more powerful, there was still room for spectators to watch from some of the soccer fields and ball diamonds.
Waggoner thanks members of the Civil Air Patrol for helping with traffic control, along with city employees besides those in his department.
The next big activity in the park will be an Asian food festival at the same time as Marian Days in Carthage, Aug. 6 – 9. Waggoner says the farmers market area of the park has been leased for that event.
After that will be the return of the Mining Days festival on Saturday, Sept. 12.
