West Tennessee sets up for local Fourth of July fireworks shows

MADISON COUNTY, Tenn. — The stage is set — or almost — as people across West Tennessee prepare for their local fireworks display.

“We’re going to have an action-packed day,” Fire Marshal Don Friddle of the Madison County Fire Department said. “We’re going to have children’s activities that open up as soon as the gates open up at 3 p.m., and then we’re going to have live entertainment. We have a really good lineup this year.”

Friddle is talking about the Fourth annual Firefighters Freedom Festival at McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport in west Madison County, where he says they will shoot about 500 fireworks.

“We put a lot of thought into this,” Friddle said. “We put thought into our arrangement of how we’re going to shoot the fireworks, and we make it very interactive.”

The fire marshal says safety is the No. 1 priority Tuesday. A team of law enforcement agencies will be posted throughout the perimeter.

“The one thing that we really promote out here is family-oriented fun,” Friddle said. “So we don’t allow any alcohol or consumer-grade fireworks.”

The Madison County Fire Department says they plan to have about 12,000 attendees Tuesday night, their biggest festival yet.

“It’s just a way that we can celebrate the birthday of the United States with our community and have a good time and really get back to what the Fourth of July is,” Friddle said. “It’s about Independence Day.”

Some additional fireworks show locations across West Tennessee include:

Pickwick Landing State Park from noon to 10 p.m.
The Festival of the Lakes at Beech Lake in Lexington from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Medina’s annual Fourth of July fireworks celebration at the Medina Community Park Complex from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Paris Landing State Park at 7 p.m.
Martin Loves America at the Martin Recreational Complex from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.