Lawton prides itself with offering the largest fireworks display in Southwest Oklahoma, and this year’s Freedom Fest at Elmer Thomas Park will double down on that.
“There will be a bigger fireworks,” Jason Poudrier, administrator from the City of Lawton’s Arts & Humanities Division, promised.
The firework will take place at 9:30 p.m. Saturday as a culmination of two days of celebrating Independence Day. Two contests, 20 bounce houses, two stages and seven bands, as well as 57 food and sales vendors — almost double the amount of vendors as last year, which was 31 — promise to make this year’s festivities special.
The Freedom Fest will kick off at 5 p.m. on Friday and at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Music will be provided on Friday on stage 1 by Senseless (5:30-7 p.m.) and Gavin Talor (7:30-9 p.m.), and on stage 2 by Trible B Jazz Band (5-7 p.m.) and Kat Pratt Band (7:30-8:30 p.m.). On Saturday, entertainment will start at 6 p.m. with Princesses, Cam Allen and the 77th Army Band.
Twenty bounce houses will provide activities for children for a $5 entry fee per kid for the entire day. An interactive Pop-up Play in the Park with family fun and games starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday and lasts until noon.
At 6 p.m. Friday, the Inaugural Classic Chevrolet Soapbox Derby, sponsored by Ace Hardware, will transform Elmer Thomas Park into a racetrack, at least partially. Participants will race their custom-built soapbox cars and compete for first, second and third place to receive a trophy. Poudrier said that 50 people showed up on the so-called build day. The Classic Chevrolet Soapbox Derby is open to all ages 8 and up.
After the Soapbox Derby, the Bar S Hotdog Eating Contest will start at 7 p.m.
Visitors who don’t want to look for a parking spot at Elmer Thomas Park can look forward to a shuttle service that will connect the festivities’ location with the parking lot at Central Plaza. The shuttle service will run every 15 minutes, Poudrier said.
