Once again, Bridgeport and all of Harrison County and beyond will be invited to take part in the revival of a decades-old tradition during the week of the Fourth of July. For the sixth straight year, the massive Independence Day week fireworks show is returning to Bridgeport.

 

The event, which is the Jenkins Subaru-Hyundai Fireworks Spectacular, will take place Tuesday, July 2. Cassie Busdeker, the creative services manager at WDTV, confirmed the show is on all systems go and is expecting another crowd drawing thousands.

 

The event usually begins shortly after dusk – or close to 10 p.m. Individuals should arrive well before that to find a good space to view the display.

 

“With our location at WDTV right across from the Big Lots and Gabriel’s Plaza parking lots you see the crowds getting bigger and bigger each year,” said Busdeker. “It’s become an annual family event and you watch the kids out there playing with sparklers and it brings back a lot of good memories from the past.”

 

While the event is only in its sixth year, it’s a rebirth of the former holiday fireworks display that was put on for decades by the now defunct Hill’s Department Store that was located where Home Depot stands today. WDTV General Manager Tim DeFazio brought up the idea and it’s been a smash hit. The only variable is securing sponsors and the same group has been stepping to the plate in recent years.

 

“We started sponsoring it three years ago, I believe, and we certainly don’t regret because who doesn’t like fireworks,” said Matt Jenkins, general manager of Jenkins Subaru-Hyundai. “This bring so many people here to Bridgeport and even the surrounding communities to shop and eat and take in other activities that day.

 

“This is an event that brings the entire community together and it’s one of the few things that the entire family can do together for a good time,” he continued. “This has turned into a really big thing for Bridgeport and we’ve added money to this because we want it to be one of the biggest events in the area … We went to make it an option that it’s worth coming up early and spending a good portion of your day for this.”

 

Along with Jenkins Subaru-Hyundai and, as expected, WDTV, three other local groups have made this possible, said Busdeker. North Central West Virginia Airport, the Harrison County EMS, and the Greater Bridgeport Convention & Visitors Bureau.

 

“What’s really made this even better each year is that more families turn this into an event throughout the evening. It’s not unusual for us to see people across from us with their trucks and tailgates down grilling out food after 3 p.m.,” said Busdeker.

 

The show’s success could be rooted in multiple things. For one, it’s not a short firework show as it generally lasts an hour or longer. Second, it’s got something that brings many – including Busdeker out – each year.

 

“I think nostalgia plays a big part in this,” said Busdeker. “I watched with my family for many years when Hill’s had the show. I bring my children because I did it and loved as a child. We’ve managed to bring back something so many enjoyed from their childhood and you see the result of that with parking lots filled at every shopping plaza in the area.”

 

The lots are generally full at the aforementioned Gabriel’s Plaza as well as the Home Depot Plaza and Clarksburg’s Eastpointe and NewPointe plazas.

 

“We get tremendous assistance from the cities of Bridgeport and Clarksburg with their police and fire departments. It’s amazing how good of a job they do getting the traffic out as quickly as possible considering the volume of vehicles they have to deal with,” said Busdeker. “We hope to see a large crowd on hand on July 2.”

 

Editor's Note: Photos of fireworks, as well as people having some pre-event fun, are from 2018 and 2017 and were taken by staff of www.benqueenphotography.com.