• From 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday, families can enjoy live music and more.
• The fireworks display is scheduled for Thursday evening at around 9:50 p.m.
• Watch the video above to learn more about the event organizers and participants.

TRANSCRIPT

There are less than 24 hours until Independence Day and a Tallahassee tradition is slowly taking shape!

I'm Terry Gilliam from Northeast Tallahassee.

If you plan on coming to Tom Brown Park for the celebration on Thursday, you will need to plan ahead.

“The first time I worked on the Fourth of July was in 1987 at Tom Brown Park… You create art for the masses, and that's what we do: we have fun doing it. If you didn't have fun doing it, you couldn't do it.”

Dennis Cooper is the General Manager of Vivid Sky Productions. He knows the traditions of the city of Tallahassee and the effort that goes into making sure everything goes according to plan.

“The stage is set up, then everything is arranged around it and it’s just a matter of implementing it.”

It may look empty now, but soon this sprawling area will be packed and filled with neighbors on the Fourth of July.

Crews spent all of Wednesday morning setting up the stage and other equipment to ensure the venue was ready for the City of Tallahassee's Celebrate America event.

From 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday, families can enjoy live music, fireworks and more.

One act features members of the cast of the Music Man Summer Musical from the Leon High School Chorus Department.

“I direct, and there is a choreographer, a music director; there is a whole team of 50 students on stage.”

Musical director Robert Stuart plays an important role in the performance. He tells me what he expects to see when the show begins.

“It’s just the people coming out to celebrate our country!”

Large crowds are expected and since parking is limited, StarMetro is providing a free shuttle service for the event. Buses will run starting at 6pm.

I asked Stuart what else he thought was new for the Fourth of July event.

“The fireworks. There are bigger and better fireworks displays all the time; since there's a fireworks scene in our show, it's just perfect for that.”

The fireworks display is scheduled for Thursday evening at around 9:50 p.m.

Creators like Stuart and Cooper say this venue is worth the time.

“People here start all kinds of events in the afternoon. They bring out their blankets, their families are here. It's wall-to-wall crowds.”

“It feels good to come here and build it!”

The city encourages visitors to use the shuttle service to ensure the safety of all pedestrian traffic during the event. At Tom Brown, I'm Terry Gilliam.