Boomsday! the Largest Labor Day Fireworks Display in the US

Boomsday is an annual Labor Day celebration in Knoxville, Tennessee that is celebrating its 19th year. This year, the fireworks display has been increased by 50%, earning Boomsday the title of largest Labor Day fireworks display in the nation instead of just in the southeast.

The festival, set in downtown Knoxville, has expanded to a three-day event this year, beginning September 1 with a concert by country artist Montgomery Gentry. More than 60 million people live within a day's drive of Knoxville and the annual Boomsday celebration attracts over 300,000 of them to Knoxville's downtown and waterfront area . With University of Tennessee's opening day of football, live music, and the nation's largest display of fireworks, this Labor Day weekend celebration is the place to be!

This year, Boomsday will begin on Friday, September 1 at 3 pm at the World's Fair Park. A family fun zone, live music, more than 40 food and beverage vendors, and exhibitor tents, plus Montgomery Gentry's concert in the evening can be enjoyed for $35. On Saturday, $15 will allow you to join in activities and watch performances by The Tams, The Drifers, The Coasters, Clifford Curry and Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs beginning at 10 am. For the University of Tennessee football fans (and there are several hundred thousand of them!) , the Cal vs. UT game will be broadcast on a giant 26 by 13 foot television screen on the lawn. Kyle Petty's NASCAR racecar and a NASCAR exhibit will be present for Boomsday festival goers, too.

On Sunday, admission is free to a full day of activities ending with the nations's largest Labor Day fireworks display. Thousands of spectators crowd the bridge, World's Fair Park, street corners, lawns and hillsides, and even the Tennessee River to watch this Boomsday fireworks display, choreographed and set to top 40 and patriotic music.

The Boomsday Labor Day festival is having its 19th year in 2006. My family and I moved to Knoxville, Tennessee in 2003. The first year we lived here, we were out of town for Boomsday. We had only lived here for two months, and barely knew what the Boomsday festival was. We definitely didn't know what we were missing! Last Labor Day, I had a three week old baby, so we watched the fireworks from the safe distance of the lawn at 11th and Cumberland St. This year, our whole family (including some from out of town) are looking forward to enjoying all of the Boomsday weekend events!

Downtown Knoxville has 4 city-owned parking garages that offer free parking after 6 pm and on weekends. Street parking is more limited, but there are also free open-air parking lots in the downtown area. Downtown Knoxville offers easy access to the I-40 and I-75 interstates, so manuevering through traffic and on your way home isn't too difficult, even after the wildly popular Boomsday celebration.

And don't worry. For those of you unable or unwilling to attend the nation's largest Labor Day fireworks display in person, the show is broadcast on WBIR-TV on Monday night.