Published: July 02, 2008 09:46 am      

Expo set to pop on Fourth

Ten thousand dollars worth of fireworks are set to light up the nighttime sky during the annual Stars & Stripes Funfest set for Friday at the Southeast Expo Center west of McAlester.

For the fifth year, the city of McAlester is sponsoring the event, offering a way to celebrate the Fourth of July with a spectacular fireworks show, along with nearly a dozen games and inflatables for kids, and an evening of live music.

It’s set from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. on the Fourth of July, with the fireworks display set to begin at dark.

No admission will be charged at the gate.

“All of the festivities will be free,” said Jerry Lynn Wilson, manager of the Southeast Expo Center. Concessions are the only things that people will need money for at the event, according to Wilson.

The fireworks display will be handled once again this year by Hance Pyrotechnics of Tahlequah, Wilson said.

Live music will be performed by Chris Morris and Blue Zebra on the carpeted east end of the Expo Center.

The band is set to play from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m., with 45 minutes sets and 15 minute breaks.

Inflatables and games for children will be set up inside on the large west end of the Expo Center which holds the basketball court. They include:

• The Space Shuttle Turbo Slide — It’s “a 36-foot-tall spiral slider,” said Jennifer Santino, administrative assistant at the Expo Center.

• Cruzin Coolers — Santino described them as battery-powered ice chests — yep, ice chests — that can be driven.

“They have speeds that go up to 10 miles per hour; they’re for ages 12 and up,” Santino said.

• Sesame Street Playland — “It’s for toddlers up to age 6,” Santino said. “They enter right into Sesame Street world. It has a small slide and a ball pit area and a bouncy surface.”

• Dora the Exploer Bounce House — That’s another bouncy inflatable.

• Military Madness — “It’s a figure eight obstacle course with a miltary theme,” Santino said. It includes a 25-foot-tall replica of a soldier which overlooks the course.

• A 12-foot inflatable ball pit slide.

• Micro Reality Racing — That’s a racing game with consoles. “Players get to pick their cars,” Santino said. “That was a big hit last year.”

• Four Man Eurobungy — Participants can jump, flip or “fly” from 20 to 26 feet in the air, said Santino.

• Mechanical Surfboard — “It’s kind of like a mechanical bull,” Santino said, describing it as a surfboard on which participants stand, with movements to simulate the action of waves. It’ll have a soft cushion for those who “wipe out,” according to Santino.

• Twin Spin — “That’s a new one this year,” Santino said. While she didn’t have many details of how it worked, she said it should be fun.

• Dance Revolution — That’s one with which Santino wasn’t familiar, other than to say it involves dancing.

• Clown Balloon Typhoon — It’s for small kids, 8 and younger. It involves a clown head and blowing air, which keeps balloons circulating inside, giving the kids a chance to try and catch them.

It all should be a lot of fun, according to those planning the event.

Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.



Big Bada Boom

Many area towns are putting on public fireworks displays this Fourth of July weekend. All shows are set to start shortly after dusk. Here are the dates and locations for towns that have reported to the News-Capital:

FRIDAY, JULY 4

• McAlester, Southeast Expo Center

• Eufaula, Peter’s Point (Across from Gator’s restaraunt)

• Wilburton, Robbers’ Cave State Park

• Kiowa

SUNDAY, JULY 6

• Hartshorne, Industrial Park