Fireworks to boom all weekend

The south metro area will be booming this July 4.

In Coweta County, the big activity is the annual parade in Newnan.

The parade kicks off Sunday at 6 p.m. at the corner of Jackson Street and Temple Avenue.

The parade continues down Jackson Street to Newnan High School on LaGrange Street.

Featured in this year's parade are eight floats, a combined marching band of the county's three high schools, fire trucks and antique cars.

When the parade finishes at the high school at 6:30 p.m., the Newnan Rotary Club takes over the festivities with a full evening of activities.

The rotary club will sell a variety of food items and also provide live entertainment through the evening.

The festivities conclude at 9:30 p.m. with a fireworks show.

Peachtree City has a full day of Fourth of July festivities scheduled — for Saturday, July 3, since the actual holiday falls on a Sunday this year.

The city's annual Independence Day parade begins at 10 a.m. on Peachtree Parkway in front of Booth Middle School. The planned parade route goes north on Peachtree Parkway, crossing Ga. Highway 54 and turning onto Flat Creek Road, crossing Hwy. 54 again to end at City Hall.

The Fire Department will have its annual equipment demonstration at 1:30 p.m. at Drake Field. Several trucks will be exhibited, including Fayetteville's tower ladder truck, the county-wide hazardous materials truck and the city's heavy rescue truck. The expo will conclude with the annual water battle at about 3 p.m.

The city is sponsoring a free holiday concert at the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater at 7 p.m. This year's featured musical guest is the Peachtree Wind Ensemble, a community band.

The day's activities will conclude with Peachtree City's traditional fireworks display over Lake Peachtree at 9:30 p.m.

Several road closings will be required due to the aforementioned events.

Peachtree Parkway will be limited to two-directional traffic on one side during the parade and lineup, while Hwy. 54 will also experience significant delays during the parade. Willowbend Road from Hip Pocket to Hwy. 54 at Flat Creek will also be closed throughout the day.

There will be no public parking at the Wyndham Peachtree Conference Center, City Hall, or Picnic Park July 3, and parking will not be permitted along the sides or in the median of Hwy. 54.

Parking also will be limited to one side of Battery Way during the fireworks. No standing or watching of fireworks will be permitted from the Hwy. 54 bicycle bridge.

Residents are asked to keep children out of the street during the parade. Candy that doesn't quite make it to the curb can be tempting to children, but vehicles in the parade often have limited lines of sight due to decorations, making the street more dangerous than normal.

Please keep children safely out of parade traffic.

Authorities would also like to remind citizens that “free-lance” fireworks are illegal in Georgia, and the Peachtree City Police Department will be enforcing this law.

Everyone is encouraged to attend fireworks displays put on by trained professionals.