Photo by Stacey Jones Layman.
Thunder on the Mountain comes back July 4 from 9-10 p.m. to celebrate Independence Day this year.
The annual Thunder on the Mountain fireworks display — one of Alabama’s most celebrated Independence Day events — returns to Vulcan Park and Museum in Birmingham on July 4 from 9 to 10 p.m.
The show — featuring nearly 2,500 fireworks — lasts about 20 minutes and lights up the night sky with vibrant colors and patterns. The fireworks are choreographed to a stirring mix of patriotic and popular music.
The show’s spectacular Red Mountain location heightens its effect, said Morgan Berney, Vulcan Park’s director of marketing and public relations.
“You can see them from anywhere in the city, even from miles away,” she said. “It’s estimated that nearly one million viewers watch our show every Fourth of July.”
Thunder on the Mountain is executed by Pyro Shows of Alabama, which has produced the Fourth of July fireworks show in Washington, D.C., numerous times, as well as many other shows in the United States and around the world, Berney said.
The event has a long history on Red Mountain.
“It is our understanding that the show was held here for many years before the restoration of the statue and the closing of the park in 1999,” she said. “During the restoration, the show was moved to a Red Mountain location west of Vulcan Park, then returned here when it reopened in 2004.”
The park will close promptly at 6 p.m. July 4, both for safety reasons and so the production team can get ready for the fireworks show.
The U.S. Air Force Band will kick off Independence Day week at the park with a free concert on June 28, Berney said.
For more about Vulcan Park and Museum at 1701 Valley View Drive, call 933-1409 or go to visitvulcan.com.
