JULY 3:
Miracle Baseball Independence Week Fireworks, Fort Myers: The professional Class-A Miracle team meets their closest rival, the Charlotte Stone Crabs, on the home field at 7:05 p.m. Following the game, the skies combust with a spectacular show of pyrotechnics. Tickets are $6 to $10. Gates open at 6 p.m. 239-768-4210, www.miraclebaseball.com
JULY 4:
Star-Spangled Bonita Fourth of July Celebration, Bonita Springs: This 51st annual parade moves along Old 41 Road starting at 9 a.m. and ending at Riverside Park. The city throws its Party in the Park following the parade, with food vendors, live entertainment, a kids’ water slide, face-painting, relay races, a pie-baking contest and a hot dog-eating competition. 239-949-6200 for parade, 239-949-6262 for other events
Independence Day Celebration, Sanibel Island: Enjoy an old-fashioned hometown parade down Periwinkle Way starting at 9:30 a.m. Paraders treat the crowd to free gifts, candy and cool-down water spraying. Businesses along the route offer sidewalk sales and special entertainment. Then join islanders for a noontime scavenger-like Road Rally before magnificent fireworks mark the coming of nightfall at the Sanibel Causeway. 239-472-1080, www.sanibel-captiva.org
Fort Myers Beach Fourth of July, Fort Myers Beach: Festivities kick off with a 10 a.m. parade up Estero Boulevard. Then, 15 minutes after sunset, one of the region’s most spectacular fireworks shows shoots off from the Fort Myers Beach Fishing Pier. That’s the main event, but restaurants, lounges and others step up the festivities with music and activity in the Times Square area and the length of the beach. Pick a seat anywhere Gulf-front for an eyeful of sparkly. 239-454-7500, visitfortmyersbeach.co
Red, White and Boom Celebration, Cape Coral: Cape Coral Parkway and its bridge shut down between the bridge and Del Prado Boulevard from noon until 3 a.m. the next morning. Starting at 4 p.m. on the Fourth, music sparks a street party that more than 50,000 people attend. Two bands play, a kids’ carnival keeps the little ones happy, and vendors sell food, beer, arts and crafts until 10 p.m. At dusk, watch the area’s largest star-spangled fireworks display over the river from land or boat. 239-549-6900, www.capecoralchamber.com
source