Fireworks are set to burst in the air and light up the skies throughout the Independence Day weekend in the Florida Keys. All-American barbecues, festivals and street parades are to add to the festivities.

Kicking off the Keys-wide events is a family-style picnic and fireworks display in the Lower Keys. The event is scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday, July 3, in an open field at the north end of Summerland Key�s Niles Channel Bridge, mile marker (MM) 27 oceanside.

Attractions are to include food, beverage and craft vendors; live musical entertainment by the band Endangered Species; raffles; giveaways and children�s games. Fireworks lasting 15-20 minutes are scheduled to begin after dark at around 9 p.m. Admission is free. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets, but pets and coolers are not allowed.

Sponsored by the Big Pine and Lower Keys Rotary and the Big Pine Volunteer Fire Department, the annual picnic attracts as many as 2,000 people. In case of rain, the event is to be rescheduled to Sunday, July 4. For more information, call Jim Cameron at 305-872-7237.

Key Largo is to observe its traditional community celebration at Sundowners on the Bay, MM 104 bayside, with fireworks starting about 9 p.m. Spectators can enjoy dinner and a front-row seat for the fireworks by calling Sundowners for a reservation at 305-451-4502.

Prior to the fireworks, at 10 a.m., the 29th annual Reporter Independence Day Parade is to take place from MM 98.2 to MM 99.4 northbound on the Overseas Highway with the theme of �Music on Parade.� The road is to be closed and traffic detoured from approximately 9:45-11:30 a.m.

Islamorada, the Village of Islands, is observing the Fourth of July with an annual community celebration featuring live music, family activities and food beginning at 4 p.m. at Islamorada Founders Park, MM 87 bayside.

Fireworks are to start at 8:45 p.m., and are to be set off from the mixed-use ballfields adjacent to the Overseas Highway. Observers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets. Village residents with identification and guests are to be admitted free of charge, while nonresident park entry rates are to apply.

Holiday Isle Resort of Islamorada, MM 84 oceanside, plans to send off fireworks from a barge on the ocean, with prime viewing from the property�s sandy beach. Admission is free. The annual display, accompanied by classical and patriotic music, is set for 9 p.m.

The City of Marathon is hosting its annual Fourth of July celebration at the end of Sombrero Beach Road, MM 50 oceanside. Fireworks are set to launch at around 9 p.m.

Marathon also hosts a community parade which is to begin at 10 a.m., followed by opening ceremonies at Sombrero Beach at 12:30 p.m. Attractions are to include live entertainment, beach volleyball, a dunk tank, an activities tent with arts and crafts, relay races for kids and adults, and concessions of beer, soda, water and food.

The athletically inclined can kick off their July 4 celebration with a morning run. The 10th annual Crimestoppers of the Florida Keys 5K run begins at 7:30 a.m. opposite the Sheraton Suites Resort on Key West�s South Roosevelt Boulevard. Participants are to run 3.1 miles along the water on island streets, with sheriff�s deputies managing traffic.

Registration flyers are to be available at many of the town�s retail and dining establishments. The entry fee is $20 prior to July 4 and $25 on the day of the race. Each entrant is to receive an event T-shirt and can compete for age group and overall awards. For more information, call Stan Rzad at 305-295-1012.

The Keys� Hospice/Visiting Nurse Association hosts its 20th annual picnic at the Wyndham Casa Marina, 1500 Reynolds Street in Key West, from 5-9 p.m. July 4. Traditional highlights are a scooter raffle, a silent auction, and barbecue fare including hotdogs, hamburgers and watermelon. Picnic attendees have a prime viewing area for the fireworks from nearby White Street Pier.

Admission to the picnic is $20 per adult, $10 for children and $5 per person without food tickets. A reserved VIP seating area is available on the Casa Marina beach for the best fireworks viewing. Cost for VIP seating is $100 per person, which includes special food and a private cash bar. The picnic is the primary annual fund-raiser for Hospice/VNA. For information, call 305-294-8812.

Also in Key West, a free celebration culminating in fireworks is scheduled at the White Street Pier, Atlantic Boulevard and White Street. The all-day, bring-your-own-picnic event began in 1976.

Participants are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets. A beer booth is to be set up at Indigenous Park, at the corner of White and Atlantic streets. The Rotary Club of Key West is to spearhead the fireworks display, as the club has done for the past 20 years. For information, call Rotary President Tom Nitti at 305-294-9575.

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Media Contact: Josie Gulliksen +1 305-461-3300 josie@newmanpr.com