Fourth of July Fireworks Displays Around Cleveland

First, let me say a word for my city, Euclid, next to Cleveland on the east. The fireworks display starts at dusk (around 9:45, probably); parking nearby will be at a premium long before then. Bring lawn chairs and/or blankets - you will have plenty of chance to buy pop or glowy toys! The fireworks are truly spectacular in Euclid!

Okay, here's a list for 2007, including Cuyahoga County and the western bit of Lake County.

Flats Oxbow Festivities

This is the big one.

The Flats events start at 1:00 p.m., with Bras Across the Cuyahoga, a fundraiser for Northern Ohio Breast Cancer Coalition Fund. Three hundred bras will be hung across the river! At Shooters on the Water

From 2:00 p.m. till the fireworks start, enjoy Flatstock - A Music Festival: free music all day from area bands! At the Plain Dealer Pavilion

The Art on Wheels ArtFest will have vendors of art and food from 4 p.m. till the fireworks, as a fundraiser or Art on Wheels Inc. At Shooters parking lot

The RTA Family Fun Fest starts at 6:30 at Settlers Landing. Family activities, and a Sousa band! This is the best east bank viewing area for fireworks, too.

Actual fireworks start at about 9:30. They will be shot from Dock 20, where the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie meet. Best viewing from Settlers' Landing on the east bank or from the Plain Dealer Pavilion to Shooters on the west. (Or from a boat, of course). Rain date July 5. Both the Goodtime III and the Nautica line are offering fireworks viewing cruises - a bit pricey, but they sound like fun. Discovery Dive offers cruises from the Euclid area, and I would expect every little rental boat to be busy.

I haven't seen the Cleveland fireworks close-up, but they're supposed to be really great!

Blossom Music Center
On July 3rd and 4th, Blossom will have "An American Salute," with the Blossom Festival Band and the Hellcats Drum and Bugle Corps, West Point Military Academy. A salute to the armed forces, Sousa marches, and the 1812 Overture are on the bill. It starts at 8:00 p.m., and ends, weather permitting, with fireworks. If you come early, you can buy food at the All-American Cookout beforehand. Blossom is in Cuyahoga Falls, and it's not, emphatically not, free.

Cleveland Orchestra on Public Square.
This one is free! On July 5th, there will be a pre-concert festival starting at 4:00 p.m. The concert itself starts at 9:00, and includes the ever-popular 1812 Overture, as well as a variety of other works. Fireworks follow the concert. Great chance to hear the best for the least cost.

Et Cetera
Then there's a slew of suburbs, whose fireworks I haven't seen and know nothing about. All are on July 4th, unless otherwise listed. Here they are:

Bay Village, Cahoon Park, dusk
Bedford, Chanel High School, July 2, dusk (festivities start at 6)
Berea, Coe Lake, dusk
Brook Park, Kennedy Field, July 9, dusk
Eastlake Ballpark, July 3rd after the Captains game
Euclid, Memorial Park, dusk
Garfield Heights, Garfield Reservation, 10pm
Independence, Elmwood Park, July 3, dusk
Lakewood Park, dusk, about 9:45 (Parade at 10 am, rock concert at 7 pm)
North Ridgeville, South Central Park, July 3, dusk
Shaker Heights Middle School, dusk
Solon Community Park, dusk
Westlake, Crocker Park, July 1, 10pm
Wickliffe, Coulby Park, 10pm
Willoughby, South High, 9:45

Grab the chance to ooh and aah!