by David Chapman
Staff Writer
The fireworks in the air were the headliner that brought the masses by both land and sea to Downtown and the Beaches over Independence Day weekend, but along with the undercard entertainment all weekend, the results were a booming success.
“It was a huge weekend for us,” said Rachel Nudge, public relations director at the Landing. “We were packed to the gills (for the fireworks display Saturday night).”
The Landing actually began celebrating the weekend earlier than most, when it kicked off its Fourth of July festivities Wednesday with a chrome bike show during Art Walk. Live entertainment followed on successive days leading up to the fireworks display, which brought anywhere from 12,000–15,000 people, said Nudge.
Though there was no way to officially count the number of patrons who frequented the Landing during the events, Nudge estimated anywhere from 20,000–25,000 people attended.
Landing merchants, she said, hadn’t reported any dramatic dips in sales — a definite plus in the current economy. Nudge also speculated that two factors out of everyone’s hands — the weather and the day the Fourth fell on — contributed to the large crowd.
“The last two years (counting this year) the Fourth has been on a Friday and Saturday, which always means it is going to be better business,” said Nudge. “People tend to come out and celebrate more on the weekend holiday as opposed to it falling in the middle of the week. When it’s on a weekend, it’s as big as New Year’s Eve.”
City-sponsored events such as the “Go Fourth & Rock” free concert featuring Pat Benatar and ice skating at the Arena were both packed as well, said City Office of Special Events Director Theresa O’Donnell Price.
“Everyone seemed to be successful,” she said. “We have a lot of great partnerships that help make things successful.”
Hotels were full or at near capacity, said O’Donnell Price, as many people from both in and out-of-town used the facilities to better enjoy the show.
Hotel patrons combined with people traveling through Downtown actually created a waiting period for people using the trolley system.
“It’s a good problem to have,” she said, while noting that more trolleys would be added next year.
Similar in success but broader in area, the Beaches turnout also didn’t disappoint, said Marilyn Matejcek of the Jacksonville Beach public relations and special events department.
Like the Landing, there is no official counting measure but Matejcek said estimates were similar to last year’s event that brought more than 100,000 over the Intracoastal for the fireworks festivities.
Like the hotels Downtown, Beaches hotels were similarly at or near capacity. Though all the economic information had yet to be accumulated, said Matejcek, the lack of any negative responses — a common trend among event officials — was a positive sign.
Slight damage to the pier, where the Beaches fireworks were launched, was rumored, she said, but nothing substantial was reported.
Additionally, traffic to and from the event — one of the more frequent complaints during larger scale events — was “no worse than normal,” she said, thanks in part to the traffic planning and traffic signal synchronization.
“Everything seemed to have gone well,” she said. “It’s interesting how things can go so smoothly.”
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