{"id":308718,"date":"2026-06-16T02:28:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T02:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/308718\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T02:28:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T02:28:14","slug":"safety-harbor-fireworks-staying-at-waterfront-park-after-wildlife-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/308718\/","title":{"rendered":"Safety Harbor fireworks staying at Waterfront Park after wildlife concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. – A planned move for Safety Harbor\u2019s Fourth of July fireworks<\/a> celebration is being reversed after wildlife advocates raised concerns about protected birds nesting near the proposed new location.<\/p>\n

City commissioners voted unanimously to keep the annual fireworks display at Waterfront Park, where it has traditionally been held.<\/p>\n

What we know:<\/p>\n

The city initially planned to move the celebration to Safety Harbor City Park because Waterfront Park is undergoing construction after damage from the 2024 hurricane season.<\/p>\n

Its pier and marina are currently being rebuilt, leaving parts of the waterfront area fenced off and unavailable.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Wildlife advocates urged the city to reconsider the move, pointing to nesting birds around Alligator Lake near City Park.<\/p>\n

The other side:<\/p>\n

Fairl Thomas with Birds in Helping Hands said fireworks<\/a> can cause problems for nesting birds, especially when adult birds are startled from their nests.<\/p>\n

She said Alligator Lake is home to several protected species, including a wood stork nest, as well as little blue herons, reddish egrets, and roseate spoonbills.<\/p>\n

Mayor Joe Ayoub said the city wanted to balance celebrating America\u2019s 250th<\/a> anniversary with protecting local wildlife.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

What’s next:<\/p>\n

The fireworks<\/a> will stay at Waterfront Park, but the city says the event will look different this year.<\/p>\n

Officials say vendors will not be allowed because of limited space due to construction. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own refreshments and plan ahead for parking.<\/p>\n

The mayor says the pier and marina are expected to reopen to the public sometime in August.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Some wildlife advocates are also hoping the discussion leads to a closer look at alternatives to fireworks in future years, including drone light shows.<\/p>\n

The Source: Information in this story comes from Safety Harbor city officials, Monday\u2019s city commission meeting, and local wildlife advocates involved in discussions about the firework’s location.<\/p>\n

America 250<\/a>Pinellas County<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. – A planned move for Safety Harbor\u2019s Fourth of July fireworks celebration is being reversed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":308719,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[52302,47,115,1157,202,204,203,199,201,200,628],"class_list":["post-308718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-america-250","tag-fl","tag-news","tag-pinellas","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/308719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}