Across Broward County, cities are rolling out a full slate of free parades, concerts, drone shows and fireworks as South Florida prepares to mark the nation\u2019s 250th birthday. It\u2019s a milestone year, and local officials are aiming to make this Fourth of July one to remember.<\/p>\n
From Fort Lauderdale to Coral Springs, cities are expanding their usual Independence Day offerings. This year, expect new drone shows, more activities for kids, and headline musical acts joining the traditional fireworks displays.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a look at five of the biggest free events planned across Broward County.<\/p>\n
Fort Lauderdale\u2019s Fourth of July Spectacular<\/a> runs from 12\u20139:15 p.m. at Las Olas Oceanside Park<\/a> and Fort Lauderdale Beach<\/a>, the city\u2019s flagship, all-ages celebration. It includes a kids\u2019 zone with inflatable water slides and face painting, beach games, contests and live bands throughout the afternoon, headlined by a 7:30 p.m. performance from country singer Walker Hayes.<\/p>\n A drone show begins at 8:45 p.m., followed by a fireworks display over the Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re heading to the beach, plan for heavy traffic and street closures along A1A and Las Olas Boulevard. Arriving early or using public transportation may save you some headaches.<\/p>\n In Pembroke Pines, there\u2019s the Independence Day Celebration<\/a> at Pines Recreation Center<\/a> from 6\u20139 p.m.<\/p>\n The city is hosting a colonial-themed evening with red, white and blue carnival rides, interactive arts and crafts. In Sunrise, the day starts early with the Stars and Stripes: 250 Years of Smiles Parade<\/a> at 9 a.m., followed by family activities at City Park. Kids can cool off at the splash pad, enjoy a fun zone, and grab a snow cone before the evening festivities<\/a>.<\/p>\n The celebration picks up again at 6 p.m. outside\u00a0Amerant Bank Arena,<\/a>\u00a0where live music from the Higher Ground Band, food vendors, a drone show and fireworks will cap off the day.<\/p>\n Coral Springs is hosting its annual\u00a0Fourth of July Celebration at Mullins Park, running<\/a> from 4 to 9:30 p.m. and open to both residents and visitors.<\/p>\n The event is family-friendly, with food vendors, sports zones, inflatables, arts and crafts, and live music from The Introverts and Absolute Bon Jonvi, a Bon Jovi tribute band. Patriotic contests and a fireworks show at 8:45 p.m. round out the evening.<\/p>\n Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is keeping things classic with its\u00a0Independence Day Parade<\/a> at 10 a.m. starting from\u00a0Town Hall<\/a>, followed by Family Fun Day at El Prado Park from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.\u00a0Expect face painting, water slides and plenty of bubbles for the kids.<\/p>\n The celebration concludes with fireworks at 9 p.m.<\/p>\n For those looking for a quieter way to celebrate, Broward Parks and Recreation is waiving entrance fees at its regional parks on July 4. That includes Tree Tops Park and Vista View Park in Davie, and Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach, offering families more free options beyond the fireworks crowds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Across Broward County, cities are rolling out a full slate of free parades, concerts, drone shows and fireworks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328709,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[110948,52302,506,135710,72932,4555,135711,249,29142,251,250,76223,52652,33378,8229,135712,6920,135713,71379,45058,135714,135715,135334],"class_list":["post-328708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-amerant-bank-arena","tag-america-250","tag-broward-county","tag-broward-parks","tag-city-park","tag-coral-springs","tag-el-prado-park","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-beach","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news","tag-fourth-of-july","tag-independence-day","tag-las-olas-oceanside-park","tag-lauderdale-by-the-sea","tag-mullins-park","tag-pembroke-pines","tag-pines-recreation-center","tag-quiet-waters-park","tag-sunrise","tag-tree-tops-park","tag-vista-view-park","tag-walker-hayes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328708","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=328708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/328709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}