MOBILE, Ala. — A free fireworks display over the water in downtown Mobile on Saturday night served as the closing act of a three-year statewide effort to mark the nation’s 250th birthday.
The Alabama Society, Daughters of the American Revolution presented “Red, White and Boom,” with the display scheduled between 8:15 and 8:35 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22, and set to run roughly 15 to 20 minutes.
The public was invited to watch from anywhere in the area surrounding the Renaissance Mobile Riverview Plaza Hotel at 64 South Water Street. The fireworks were launched from a barge on the water across from the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf, giving viewers along the downtown waterfront an unobstructed vantage point.
The last piece of a statewide program
“Red, White and Boom” was the final project in State Regent Malinda L. Williams’s America 250! program for the Alabama Society — a slate of statewide initiatives commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“For three years, Alabama Daughters have marked America’s 250th birthday in classrooms, at monuments, and in communities in every corner of this state,” Williams said. “It is fitting that we close this chapter with a celebration that belongs to everyone. We invite our neighbors across Mobile and the Gulf Coast to stand together on the waterfront and enjoy the ‘rockets red glare’ during this amazing celebration.”
How it was funded
The event was funded in part by an America 250 Semiquincentennial Grant from American Village in Montevallo and by a grant from the Alabama USA Semiquincentennial Commission, which supports local commemorations of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Organizers were explicit on one point: “Red, White and Boom” was presented solely by the Alabama Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, and was not a City of Mobile event.
Attendees were encouraged to arrive early, bring their own seating and follow all posted waterfront safety and parking guidance.
About the organization
The Alabama Society DAR is made up of more than 4,000 women in 69 chapters across the state, all of whom can trace their lineage to patriots who fought for or provided aid to the American colonists during the Revolutionary War.
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to promote historic preservation, education and patriotism. With more than 190,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide, DAR is one of the largest and most active volunteer service organizations of its kind. It is a non-political, nonprofit organization.
More information about the state society is available at alabamasocietydar.org.