Prep Work For Tulsa's Largest Fireworks Show Underway

Preparations are happening for the Folds of Honor Freedom-fest. It’s the city’s largest fireworks show.

Tuesday night, gates will open, music will start and the festival will go until the fireworks at 10:00 p.m.

The main event got a lot of attention Monday as pyrotechnicians unpacked fireworks and loaded them into tubes that will be placed on the 21st Street bridge.

The fireworks fill three semi-trailers.

Ryan Howell, River Parks events manager, said, "This is one of the smaller ones we'll be shooting off during the event - this is a five-inch diameter projectile."

Howell said the show will include giant shells - like a 10-inch shell cut in half to show the inside.

The crowd will have plenty of room to watch because the festival covers both the River West Festival Park and Veterans Park on the east end of the bridge.

And there will be plenty to see.

"The Red Bull skydiving team is coming and they'll be jumping out of their plane at about 8:00, while the Star Spangled Banner is being sung, and the Air National Guard will do a flyover, so it will be quite the spectacle," Howell said.

River Parks staff mowed the banks down to the water's edge to clear the view.

River Parks expects 80,000 people to attend, but they'll be spread across several sites.

Ryan Howell, River Parks Events Manager: “We anticipate maybe 10,000 to the West Festival site and another 7,000 to 10,000 people at Veterans, and along the banks another five or seven thousand.

Parking in lots on the west side is $5; and while there are lots of spots, River Parks said you might consider bicycling.