Why no sparks on the Fourth of July?

Organizers of the annual Sparks in the Park fireworks celebration hear one specific question about the event quite often. “Why is it not held on the actual Fourth of July?” There are actually a few answers to that question, said Andi Darby, senior account executive for Townsquare Media.

“We have done this for 18 years, either at Spring Lake Park or the Four States Fairgrounds and it was never really designed to be on the Fourth of July. It’s easier to get things done on a Saturday close to the Fourth,” Darby said.

This year’s event is Saturday, June 24 at Four States Fairgrounds.

Darby said it’s hard to get as many volunteers for the festival if it is held on the Fourth of July.

“A lot of people have the actual holiday off. Many of our sponsors give their employees that day off,” she said.

And it takes a lot of volunteers to make Sparks in the Park run smoothly.

“The more volunteers we have, the more activities we can have,” Darby said.

There can also be more activities and special attractions such as monster trucks and military tanks and trucks if the event is not held on the Fourth of July. Bigger cities will have these attractions booked on the actual holiday, Darby said.

More police help is also available on another date.

“The city police rely on help from the Arkansas State Police to work Sparks in the Park because of I-30 and the loop. And on the Fourth of July, there would be increased travel on the highways, more drunk driving and more fireworks calls for police to respond to,” Darby said.

“We need them to try and make everything as safe and secure inside the park as possible.” she said.

The rain date for this year’s event is July 1.