WEST MONROE – The City of West Monroe has announced activities for this year’s Independence Day Celebration.
Independence Day festivities in Downtown West Monroe will take place on Saturday, July 4. The highlight of the festivities will be the 250th Drone & Fireworks Show over the Twin Cities which will take place at 9 p.m. on Saturday, July 4.
Activities in downtown West Monroe throughout the day include:
• Food trucks in Alley Park – 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• 250th Anniversary Parade presented by Krewe of Janus – 11 a.m.
• Hot Dog Eating Contest sponsored by Chris Lewis and Coney Island Connection – 5 p.m.
• Splashtacular Kids Zone – Commerce Street grassy lot – 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Patriotic Concert with Legacy Strings and Daughters of the American Revolution – 6 p.m.
• Live music with Flashback5 – 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Drone & Fireworks Show – 9 p.m.
The 250th Anniversary Parade will begin at 11 a.m. on Natchitoches Street in West Monroe. The parade will turn left onto the 300 block of Trenton Street, then turn right crossing the Louisville Bridge into Monroe.
In preparation for the parade, the following street closures will take place on Saturday, July 4:
• Trenton Street from Bridge to Wood Streets will be closed at 10 a.m.
• Natchitoches Street from N. 8th Street to Cotton Street will be closed at 10 a.m.
• Louisville Bridge will close at 10 a.m. to vehicular and pedestrian traffic; the bridge will reopen after the parade concludes in Monroe.
Commerce Street from Natchitoches to Wood Street will be closed at 4 p.m. for the Splashtacular Kids Zone on the grassy lot on Commerce Street featuring jumpers, water fun, bubble truck and rinse off station.
The drone show will begin at 9 p.m. and will be launched over the Ouachita River near the Railroad Bridge, across from the City of West Monroe’s downtown Riverfront Park and Marina. The fireworks will be shot from the Endom Bridge. The public is advised there will be a restricted area near the drone launch zone, preventing pedestrians from standing within that restricted area.
In preparation for the drone and fireworks show, the West Monroe Police Department has announced the following street closures on Saturday, July 4:
• The Endom Bridge will be closed at 7 p.m. to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
• Coleman Avenue at S. 1st Street will be closed at 7 p.m. All eastbound traffic will be directed to turn north onto S. 1st Street.
• Wood Street east of Trenton Street, including North Riverfront and the 100 block of South Riverfront, will be closed at 7 p.m.
• The northbound lane of the 200 block of South Riverbend will be closed to traffic.
• Austin Street at South Riverfront will be closed at 7 p.m.
The drone show and fireworks show is expected to last approximately 30 minutes. The Endom Bridge will reopen once the bridge has been inspected. The drone show can be heard by turning into 107.3 FM. The radio simulcast will be available in the immediate drone show area. FM transmitter apps are available for download.
Acadian Ambulance and the West Monroe Fire Department will have emergency personnel in downtown West Monroe on July 4 for any medical emergencies. Public restrooms will be available at the Hatchell Building restroom facility on Natchitoches Street, and a portable restroom trailer will be on Cotton Street near the West Monroe Police Department Detectives Building.