Mobile’s annual Fourth of July fireworks display at Battleship Memorial Park is getting shorter and, organizers say, better. City special events staff have spent recent years adjusting the length of the show over the USS Alabama, and this year’s display will run about 13 minutes, down from an 18-minute version used in years past.
The city’s special events coordinator said the change isn’t about cutting costs or content. The same number of aerial shells will still light up the sky over the battleship; they’ll simply be packed into a tighter window, creating a denser, more intense show. Officials who help run the celebration each summer say the shorter format has consistently drawn a stronger reaction from the crowd than the longer version it replaced.
The evening’s festivities begin well before the fireworks. A community orchestra will take the stage near the park’s large open field at 7 p.m., opening with a moment of silence honoring Gulf War veterans. The set list mixes patriotic standards with film music, including a piece drawn from a classic John Wayne western score, along with traditional marches and a closing rendition of The Stars and Stripes Forever.
City organizers say roughly 19,000 dollars has been budgeted for this year’s pyrotechnics, which will launch from the east side of the battleship starting with a volley of red, white and blue shells dedicated to veterans. The USS Alabama itself will be lit up during the display, something organizers say hasn’t happened in the show for some time.
Logistics for the event are substantial. Battleship Memorial Park opens at its normal 8 a.m. hour, but the large field used for fireworks viewing won’t open until 4 p.m. Parking runs 2 dollars per vehicle from 4 to 5 p.m., then rises to 5 dollars for the remainder of the evening. The field can hold around 6,000 vehicles, and a separate barricaded area is set aside near the orchestra for handicapped visitors and others who prefer to walk up rather than drive in. Concession stands and restrooms will be open, though grills and alcohol are not permitted inside the park.
Given the size of the crowd, officials are asking attendees to remain in place for about 15 minutes after the fireworks conclude around 9 p.m. before heading for their cars, giving traffic a chance to clear along the Causeway and the Interstate 10 Bayway. Mobile and Spanish Fort police, along with Alabama State Troopers, will be posted along those routes to keep vehicles moving in both directions. Organizers acknowledged some congestion during last year’s exit and said they’re watching for ways to smooth the flow this time around.
Weather forecasts for the evening call for lower humidity, mostly clear skies and a light breeze out of the north, with temperatures expected in the mid-to-high 70s by the time the fireworks begin.