Downtown parade starts two days of celebration

Bonita Springs is turning red, white and blue for two days of all-out patriotism for the city’s celebration of Independence Day.

The festivities kick off Saturday at 9 a.m. with a parade followed by a Riverside Park celebration.

The grand finale comes Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. at Palmira Golf & Country Club with some entertainment before the fireworks show at dusk.

“We’re looking forward to having a good community event and safe time with the fireworks,” said Arleen Houston, special projects coordinator for the city.

On Saturday, Old 41 in downtown Bonita Springs will be closed starting at 8 a.m. in anticipation of the 9 a.m. parade. The road will remain closed until at least 1 p.m.

The music at Riverside Park will begin immediately after the parade ends; Bob Leary’s New Orleans Dixieland Quartet is the featured act.

“We will try to keep the music flowing so there is no dead silence,” said Trish Leonard, co-chairwoman of Star Spangled Bonita!

The celebration at Riverside Park will include a pie-baking contest, an award to a World War II veteran, the announcement of the Bonita Springs Historical Society’s Mayor of Survey race and a hot dog-eating contest.

“Hopefully, we will get some people who will be brave enough to come up on stage and see how many hot dogs they can eat in three minutes,” Leonard said.

There will be kids games, relay races and face painting. The city will sell 144 commemorative T-shirts at $10 each.

On Tuesday, the fireworks are at Palmira Golf & Country Club on Bonita Beach Road two miles east of Interstate 75, but the city is encouraging people to park at the Flamingo Island Flea Market and take the free shuttle.

The Fourth of July event starts at 4:30 p.m. with music, magicians, banjo players and Uncle Sam on stilts.

The fireworks will begin at dusk and will last 23 minutes as the explosions are coordinated with portions of 25 patriotic songs.