ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – Tens of thousands of people are making plans to deal with challenging weather and crowds at the 29th annual Red Hot & Boom Independence Day celebration.
Julius Brown was at Cranes Roost Park 24 hours before the festival and said he’s expecting the area to be very busy on Friday.
“You’d better come out kind of early, because they start blocking traffic off and everything,” Brown said. “It’s going to be difficult to get in.”
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With more than 200,000 people expected at the event, city leaders are urging attendees to plan for crowds and traffic in the area.
Latoya Kemper plans to arrive at least a couple of hours before the 5 p.m. start time.
“The biggest thing is attending the event early and prepacking and preplanning,” Kemper said. “Map out where we’re going to be so that we’re not congested in a particular spot.”
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All week, organizers have urged attendees to prepare for the heat and the possibility of afternoon thunderstorms.
“Those personal fans, that’s the biggest thing. Misters in hand. Cold water, and that’s it. Stay hydrated,” Kemper said. “The best you can do is hydration, an umbrella, and one of those folded mats for places to sit.”
Parking is available at the Altamonte Mall and surrounding areas. Disabled parking is available in the parking lot near Festival Drive and Central Parkway, as well as a designated area in the Altamonte Mall Parking lot north of the AMC Theater.
Information on what you can and cannot bring to the event, along with other activities, is available HERE on the city’s website.
Red Hot & Boom is Friday from 5-10 p.m. at Cranes Roost Park. The fireworks are scheduled to begin at 9:30 p.m., weather permitting.