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Covington hosts extravagant fireworks display to celebrate bicentennial
The display in total lasted about 21 minutes. It was choreographed to music from a local radio station.
COVINGTON, Ga. - In Covington, the city’s biggest fireworks display yet brought out thousands of spectators looking to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday.
Organizers of the event said they wanted to make this year’s show even more special as the city celebrates its 200th anniversary.
"They’re gonna see something that they’ve never seen before," Friends of Covington Fireworks Chairman Robert Foxworth told FOX 5.
The organization is a nonprofit group that helps pay for the display. Foxworth said they expected around 100,000 people to come out and they raised around $70,000 to make the show happen for the city’s 200th birthday.
"It’s pretty spectacular. We shoot from four separate locations all at the same time," he said.
Months of preparation for the show all came down to 21 minutes of pure American entertainment.
"We work all day Saturday setting up, dropping shells, loading the racks, wiring everything up," Foxworth explained. "We work 8, 9 to 10 hours a day sometimes…but we get it done."
He said the event celebrating Independence Day and the city’s 200th anniversary drew tens of thousands of people from across the state and the country.
"This is our first time out here in Covington…it’s just good to be with family and to celebrate the Fourth of July," attendee Kim Winner told FOX 5.
Others said they came to the city they heard about through its heavy film presence.
"This is known for ‘Vampire Diaries,’ and we’re big fans, so we wanted to come out and, I think we thought it would be like fun and special," event goer Samantha Calmes said.
It’s a special event Foxworth said has been a tradition funded by the city, county and donations over the last 11 years. He said the crowd’s reaction is always priceless.
"Over $40,000 is just individuals and businesses donate money," he said. "The chills that people get and just the look in their eyes … that tells the story."
The festivities also included live performances and games happening in the town square. Foxworth said the fireworks show was choreographed to music from a local radio station.