{"id":403144,"date":"2026-09-18T02:32:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T02:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/403144\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T02:32:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T02:32:15","slug":"altamonte-springs-ends-red-hot-boom-fireworks-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/403144\/","title":{"rendered":"Altamonte Springs ends Red, Hot & Boom fireworks show"},"content":{"rendered":"

After nearly three decades of lighting the night sky with Independence Day fireworks \u2014 drawing oohs and wows from thousands of spectators every year \u2014 the Red, Hot & Boom event at Cranes Roost Park has come to an end.<\/p>\n

Altamonte Springs commissioners on Wednesday unanimously approved next fiscal year\u2019s budget \u2014 one that does not allocate money for what has been one of the largest fireworks shows in Central Florida, held annually on July 3.<\/p>\n

But commissioners agreed to fund the city\u2019s library for at least another year after more than a dozen residents spoke against shuttering the facility.<\/p>\n

City officials had proposed axing both the library and Red, Hot & Boom in an effort to curtail expenses, in part because they, like municipal leaders across Florida, fear an upcoming statewide vote on Amendment 3, an initiative to cut property taxes, could lead to a drastic cut to their funding.<\/p>\n

But commissioners, who did not comment during Wednesday\u2019s meeting, and other city officials also had previously expressed other concerns about the fireworks spectacle. They said it had grown too large and too expensive for Altamonte Springs<\/a> and too economically deleterious for many small businesses in the surrounding area.<\/p>\n

Last July, it cost Altamonte Springs roughly $950,000 in mostly city tax dollars to hold Red, Hot & Boom due to tariffs, inflation, insurance, staffing and security.<\/p>\n

Trent Warner, general manager of Cafe Murano restaurant \u2014 where outdoor patio seating is less than a football field away from Cranes Roost Park \u2014 said Red, Hot & Boom was \u201cthe best fireworks show\u201d because \u201cyou\u2019re right there and can watch them right in front of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it was bad for business.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want it gone,\u201d he said Thursday morning while sitting in his restaurant overlooking the park\u2019s waterfront.<\/p>\n

City crews would close scores of parking spaces near his restaurant and other nearby businesses days before the event so they could begin setting up for the hours-long festitivites, forcing many customers to walk relatively long distances.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re talking about three or four days of slow business,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On the day of the fireworks, dozens of awaiting spectators would flood into his restaurant to use the bathrooms or take shelter from summer afternoon thunderstorms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI became more of a bouncer than a restaurant manager,\u201d Warner said.<\/p>\n

In recent years, his eatery set up a tent outside to sell beer and charged $50 a person for outdoor seating. He barely broke even.<\/p>\n

But for Hasham Yahya, owner of Azal Coffee on Cranes Roost Boulevard, Red, Hot & Boom was a boon for business. He is disappointed to see it end.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt brought in a lot of customers,\u201d he said Thursday. \u201cPeople would come from Apopka, Winter Park and even Orlando. And they would see that we\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HashamHasham Yahya, owner of Azal Coffee near Cranes Roost Park in Altamonte Springs prepares an order, on Thursday, September 17, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Red, Hot & Boom \u2014 which drew more than 220,000 people this year and can last up to five hours \u2014 was started in 1997 as a way to promote the new Uptown Altamonte commercial center and draw visitors into the city.<\/p>\n

Although it grew into a signature event for Altamonte Springs, Commissioner Bob O\u2019Malley joined other city leaders recently in saying it had likely swelled too large for a community of just over 46,000 people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was time to retire Red, Hot and Boom,\u201d city Manager Frank Martz said after the meeting. \u201cThe size of the event had outgrown the venue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople walk at Cranes Roost Park in Altamonte Springs, on Thursday, September 17, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

No residents spoke for or against the fireworks show at Wednesday night\u2019s city meeting.<\/p>\n

The hot topic was the future of the Altamonte Springs\u2019 library. Seventeen residents spoke in favor of keeping the facility open.<\/p>\n

This year, Martz and his staff recommended shutting down the library on Maitland Avenue, which costs the city about $750,000 annually to operate and maintain.<\/p>\n

But after an uproar from residents \u2014 including two petitions to save the library, which combined garnered thousands of signatures \u2014 commissioners agreed to fund the facility for another fiscal year, or through Sept. 30, 2027.<\/p>\n

In the coming weeks, Altamonte Springs will explore whether to hire a non-profit organization or other private entity to operate it. City officials will likely make a decision by April.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to seeing what comes out of it,\u201d Commissioner Jim Turney said of the effort. \u201cI sincerely hope that it will be a success for many years into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the commission\u2019s budget vote, supporters said they were relieved their city library will remain open for now \u2014 and hope it will get more than just a temporary reprieve.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really happy that you guys are listening to us,\u201d resident Maryann Salazar said to commissioners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After nearly three decades of lighting the night sky with Independence Day fireworks \u2014 drawing oohs and wows…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403145,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[28,114,266,115,139,141,140,1014,109],"class_list":["post-403144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-florida","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-seminole-county","tag-social"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403144","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=403144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403144\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}