Potential storms won’t stop Farmville’s Fireworks After Dark
Published 4:43 pm Monday, July 3, 2023
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FARMVILLE – As soon as the forecast popped up earlier today, we started getting calls about when Fireworks After Dark was getting moved. The answer is it isn’t. Despite the rain coming down this afternoon, Farmville officials say Fireworks After Dark will go on tonight as scheduled.
According to Town Manager, Dr. Scott Davis, everything is still moving forward as planned.
“Even though it’s storming now, it’s supposed to pass through Farmville by tonight,” said Davis.
Now yes, things have been slightly upgraded. The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch until 10 p.m. for Farmville and the surrounding area. But while Powhatan, Chesterfield and Richmond have now been upgraded to an “enhanced risk” of severe storms, Farmville remains in the “slight” category. That means even if a storm rolls through the area, it’s not expected to be bad enough to knock down power lines, cause flooding or, in this case, shut down the event.
According to the National Weather Service out of Wakefield, the showers we’re seeing now are expected to disappear by around 5 p.m. After that, there is no more than a 30% to 40% chance of rain from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., leaving town officials confident that they’ll be able to get the fireworks in.
So what’s changing for Fireworks After Dark?
Now, you’ll notice a couple places blocked off when you go tonight to try and find parking. In order to hold the fireworks, set up the food trucks and have the celebration, some streets need to be closed. That includes:
- S Main Street between Putney Street and West Third Street
- Fourth Street from S Main Street to Virginia Street
- North Street from High Street to West Third Street
- High Street from Venable Street to Main Street
Fireworks, meanwhile, will start once the sky gets good and dark, which is expected around 9:30 p.m. and the show will last for around 20 minutes. The fireworks will be shot from the roof of Town Hall. According to Davis, these are a different type of fireworks like the ones used for sporting events and concerts. Due to how close buildings and people are to the downtown fireworks, Farmville will use what’s called close proximity pyrotechnics.
These aren’t as loud and don’t have the fallout of regular fireworks. Even so, folks can expect the show to still have the same bright colors.
