Category All Art Classes Classical Music Concerts DANCE Etc Exhibits Families Farmers Markets Film Happenings Holiday Holiday Lectures Music (non-classical) Theater

Submit events

FILE PHOTO

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT. Freedom Fair features continuous live entertainment to suit anyone’s taste. Teddy Lee Hooker, shown here, headlines the “Back to Beale Street Blues 2009 Challenge Final. ”

FREEDOM FAIR 2008

Northwest’s biggest fireworks show highlights full day of family events

By Tacoma Weekly Staff Writers

Tacoma Freedom Fair events will cover two miles of the Ruston Way waterfront on the Fourth of July. Starting at 10 a.m., the schedule includes seven live entertainment performance areas featuring a wide variety of music. Those attending will find games, children’s entertainment and an open-air market with arts, crafts and two food courts.

You will see the world’s longest-running pole vault competition, a log boom for boaters (limited to vessels 20 feet or under), U.S. Army landing craft rides, a classic car show and military exhibits in Camp Patriot. The Metro Parks Family Fun Zone will be filled with activities at Dickman Mill Park, and the Lost Boys Pirates Cove will feature all kinds of activities for children of all ages. Highlighting the day will be exciting performances by military and civilian aircraft during the Tacoma Air Show starting at 1:30 p.m. and the spectacular Grand Finale Fireworks Extravaganza starting at 10:10.

A FIREWORKS EXTRAVAGANZA

The spectacular Grand Finale to Tacoma’s annual Fourth of July celebration will be the biggest fireworks show in the Northwest.

The display will be shot over Commencement Bay starting at 10:10 p.m. from a barge located about 1,500 feet from the end of the Old Town Dock. Boaters are required to remain at least 1,500 feet clear of the barge, or the show cannot start.

The show will open with an eye-catching array of fanned crackling tiger tails, ruby red and sapphire blue color-changing shells and artillery titanium salutes. Be sure to watch for the multiple-break pagoda shells and glittering palm trees, and the long-lasting silver brocade waterfall cascading shells. During the main portion of the show, you will see twilight glitter, gold kamuro, Saturn shells, and sun and planet shells, all synchronized to the musical score.

Every color of the rainbow will be represented during the Grande Finale, which will shake the waterfront, the city and beyond! You will thrill to the brilliant fuchsia, magenta, aqua, turquoise, violet, lime green, ruby reds and sapphire blues. The tempo and intensity increase with the introduction of popping brocades, brocade strobes, tourbillions, whistles, hummers, cassettes, crackling spiders, flying go-getters and thunderous titanium salutes. They all set the stage for the final moments of the show, when the sky will swell and explode with color, music, and light.

Like last year’s show, this one will be skillfully choreographed and synchronized to music and simulcast live on Warm 106.9 FM. The best place to watch is from the parks and properties located along Ruston Way, where you can hear one of the stage sound systems playing the soundtrack to the fireworks show.

OUTDOOR MARKET

More than 100 artists, craft vendors, and commercial exhibitors will join together on the Tacoma waterfront this Fourth of July to form a colorful and bustling public market. The merchants offer a wide assortment of toys, clothing, jewelry, works of art, crafts, home decorations, personal services and so much more. The waterfront market is a super place to shop for those hard-to-find items. Be sure to take a look at the hand-made products from all over the Pacific Northwest and around the world.

The Freedom Fair International Food Court is the place to bring a big appetite! Two big locations on Ruston Way are filled with great food. Do not miss the group of food vendors by the Les Davis Pier in addition to the original food court location between Northern Fish Company and the Silver Cloud Inn.

More than 45 food vendors will be offering up tasty treats from around the world and American favorites, too. The food booths will set up along the Ruston Way waterfront offering mouth watering foods like: flame-broiled barbecue ribs, teriyaki chicken or beef, stir-fry vegetables and Yakisoba noodles. Mexican foods will include tacos, nachos, quesadillas, burritos, fajitas and southwestern black beans. There will be plenty of hand-dipped ice cream bars, Italian meatball sandwiches, Cajun foods, Thai cuisine, tropical shaved ice, roasted corn-on-the-cob, roast potatoes, Philadelphia sandwiches and fresh fruit blend drinks. If that is not enough, try some Caribbean, Bavarian, Polynesian, or Greek style meats. Or you can settle down with a more traditional cheeseburger, hot dogs or a big slice of pizza. Of course, one can also find strawberry skewers, elephant ears, sundaes, fresh lemonade, old-fashioned kettle corn and corn dogs too!

LOST BOYS PIRATE COVE

Children of all ages will find something to enjoy at this year’s newest activity, the Lost Boys Pirate Cove. Captain Bill and his scurvy band of pirates and wenches provide safe and enjoyable fun and games for everyone – climb aboard their trusty ship, the 35-foot vessel Son of the Morning Star. You will enjoy mock battles, belly dancers, cutthroat dinghy races – and more! The Lost Boys pirate band is an award-winning group dedicated to promoting fun and citizenship in our community and will bring new heights of entertainment to Freedom Fair 2008.

FUN & GAMES GALORE

The waterfront will be packed with great family activities like jumping toys, pony rides and a wide variety of entertainment. The remote control car races are back and by the Les Davis Pier you will find the world longest-running beach pole vault championship event.

• Show & Shine Car Show. Visitors to the Freedom Fair will have the opportunity to view close to 80 classic cars on display in the parking lot next to the Lobster Shop. The show will feature hot rods, muscle cars, street rods and other classics available to view between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. The electric blues, glossy lemon yellows, and bright silver chrome shimmering in the sun, will be an irresistible sight that no one can pass up. “View, but don’t touch!” cautions car show organizer Russ Wilcoxson. A member of Mustangs Northwest car club, Wilcoxson, said that the owners (“gearheads” in classic car lingo) have worked hard to restore these beauties. “They welcome the public’s admiring glances and questions but not the fingerprints on their cars’ perfectly lacquered finishes!”

• A Boater’s Paradise. Enjoy the fireworks show on the water from behind the log boom, located just off shore from Ruston Way restaurants. Boaters will have the opportunity to stay overnight from July 3 to the morning of July 5. The log boom will be stretched between Marine Park and Dickman Mill. Event organizers recommend arriving early because there will be no movement permitted from 1-4 p.m. during the air show. Mariners are required to stay out of the area between the log boom and 3,500 feet off shore. The Federal Aviation Administration requires that this area be kept closed and clear of all boat traffic during the air show and fireworks. The U.S. Coast Guard requires boaters to please stay at least 1,500 feet clear of the fireworks barge. Old Town Dock will also be closed all day on the Fourth of July. The best rule of thumb is to stay between the shoreline and the log boom. It is the safest and most convenient place to secure your boat and enjoy the ultimate Fourth of July experience without interfering with the presentation of the festival.

A small donation will be collected to help offset the expense of placing and maintaining the log boom. Space for boats under 20 feet will be $20 and boats over 20 feet are $40.

CAMP PATRIOT

The theme for the Freedom Fair is “Honoring Community Heroes,” and to provide the community with an opportunity to join in this effort, Camp Patriot was established at Marine Park in 2006. Booths and displays in Camp Patriot represent not only members of the American military, but also community heroes from law enforcement, fire and community safety, and non-profit activities that serve the community. Camp Patriot is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Marine Park.

Story Tools