Doornbos Park celebrations to include Field of Honor

NEDERLAND — The Nederland Parks and Recreation Department is gearing up for the city’s fourth annual Fireworks Extravaganza Fourth of July celebration at Doornbos Heritage Park.

Angela Fanette, Nederland Parks and Recreation director, said regional veterans will be honored in a special Veterans VIP section, catered by Roadhouse, during the night’s festivities and in the city’s third annual Field of Honor.

“Our Field of Honor has grown every year, and we would love to have an even bigger field of flags displayed this year,” Fanette said. “We do our field a little differently. Each flag represents a particular person, and we post the name, branch of service and any other information that’s submitted for each person. We’re inviting all of our veterans and active military — or their families — to come sign up by July 3.”

The Veterans VIP section will be catered by Roadhouse, Fanette said, with city employees available to serve food and drinks while the veterans enjoy the Fourth of July celebrations. Registration for the Veterans VIP section is due by June 30.

Fanette said veterans and their families should be cognizant of upcoming registration deadlines so the city has enough time to arrange the flags and order enough catering before the event.

“July 4 is a community-wide celebration, so our veterans projects are not just for Nederland veterans — we want as many veterans, and their families, who can make it out to Doornbos Park to do so. We want to be able to serve them and thank them all for their service,” Fanette said.

The celebration is scheduled from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. July 4, with continuous events running through the night. Food vendors will be positioned throughout the park, and the Nederland Swimming Pool will be unlocked all four and a half hours. Regular pool fees will apply.

Fanette said there will be a kids’ train giving rides through the park and a kids’ area with games and activities, including a super size chess set, hula hooping and sack races.

The Bike and Wagon Parade will begin at 6 p.m. Prizes will be awarded for the best red, white and blue bike and wagon. Fanette said entries should be registered by July 2.

Performances by Still Cruisin’ and Sweet Adelines will start at 7 p.m., followed by the Fireworks Extravaganza show set to music at 9:15 p.m.

Fanette said the fireworks, provided by Phoenix Design Group, will last about 15 minutes. Anyone at the Nederland Swimming Pool when the fireworks start may watch the show from the pool.

“This isn’t just for Nederland, it’s for our whole community,” Fanette said. “People do need to be prepared to park and walk because we’re expecting large crowds again this year. We’re selling Fourth of July T-shirts for anyone who wants to come get a shirt to wear to the Saturday event.

“Of course, the city is so appreciative to our sponsors because we could not put on an event of this magnitude and this quality without them,” she added. “And the whole event will be simulcast on 94.1, which is exciting. So even if you can’t make it out to Doornbos Park for July 4, you can tune in to your local radio station and still get the whole effect.”

To register for any of the events, stop by the Nederland Recreation Center at 2301 Avenue H.

For more information, call (409) 724-0773.

Twitter: @crhenderson90