Fourth of July fireworks show returning to Dayton

DAYTON — After having to cancel the annual Fourth of July fireworks show in 2020, the City of Dayton will have fireworks lighting up the sky this Independence Day weekend with the return of the “Lights in Flight” Festival.

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley told News Center 7′s Michael Gordon that she and City Hall made the decision to bring back the firework show after clearing it with Public Health Dayton & Montgomery County, as well as their chief medical officer.

In addition to bringing the community together, Whaley said the another positive of the event’s return is that it helps cut down on a problem that grew when last year’s show was cancelled.

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“What we saw last year was just a month of really ridiculous and illegal activity around fireworks across the neighborhoods,” Whaley said.

Dayton residents like Javon Roundtree said the return of the Fourth of July fireworks is a welcomed sign of normalcy.

“We need that. The community needs to get back together and everybody can start having fun,” Roundtree said.

Whaley credited the return of “Lights in Flight” to the number of residents who have received the COVID-19 vaccines.

“If people had not gotten vaccinated, we would not be able to have the fireworks. And we see vaccination rates continue to go up and cases go down because all of the work people are doing that allows us to have this,” Whaley said.

Masks and social distancing mandates will still be in place during the event, which is scheduled for July 3 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Riverscape MetroPark.

Cox Media Group