Fireworks display still planned for tonight

Barring “dangerous weather,” Visit Hot Springs said Saturday that the annual free public Memorial Day fireworks display on Lake Hamilton will still be held tonight.

“We really want to have the fireworks Sunday,” Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs, said Saturday in a news release. “If we get a break in the weather, we’ll do the fireworks at dark on Sunday. Unless there is dangerous weather like a severe storm or lightning the show will go on.”

If tonight’s show has to be postponed, Arrison said “we’ll definitely have it Monday evening.”

“The Memorial Day fireworks traditionally signal the beginning of the summer vacation season for Hot Springs. We discussed the COVID-19 situation and determined that we could do the fireworks this year and still maintain a safe environment for those who enjoy the annual tradition,” Arrison said.

“Those who enjoy the display from their boats in the lake present no problem with distancing guidelines as outlined by health experts and state government officials,” he said. “Others should maintain distancing as outlined by officials.”

The fireworks will be shot from the middle of Lake Hamilton from barges located on the east side of the Highway 7 south causeway.

The fireworks will be synchronized with music on radio station 97.5 FM US97.

Visit Hot Springs will sponsor the free show. It is the first of two fireworks displays Visit Hot Springs will sponsor this year. The second will be July 4.

“Those who want to watch the Memorial Day display from the water are urged to keep a safe distance from the fireworks launching area and keep watch for fellow boaters,” the release said.