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Tampa Bay celebrates the Fourth of July

Independence Day is seeing large crowds, parades and patriotism.

TAMPA, Fla. — Thousands of Tampa Bay area locals are celebrating Independence Day watching boat parades, attending hot dog eating contests and gearing up for firework displays.

This year, the city of Tampa's Boom by the Bay and St. Pete Pier's The Fourth are back to celebrate the 4th of July with fireworks and other events.

Most festivities began at 4 p.m. 

At 10 a.m. in Manatee County, crowds gathered for the Anna Maria Island Privateers 4th of July parade. The pirate-themed parade began at Coquina Beach and wrapped up at the Anna Maria City Pier.

Onlookers, including families with children, lined the streets to watch pirate ship floats and cars decked out in red, white and blue travel down the road. They dodged water guns and lunged for beads being tossed from the floats. 

Safety Harbor saw an Independence Day celebration at 10 a.m., as well, with the Auxiliary Unit of American Legion Post 238's parade

The parade stretched from Main Street at Philippe Parkway to post 238. It began with a low flyover by a U.S. Coast Guard plane and ended with a patriotic ceremony at the Gazebo by Santa's Drill Team. 

St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch addressed the city Monday morning to discuss The Fourth. By 4 p.m., downtown St. Pete would be bustling with live music, food trucks, a beer garden and vendors, he said.

Weather permitting, a fireworks display will begin at 9 p.m.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor watched a hot dog eating contest at the Riverfront Stage as part of the Heights District Fourth of July Celebration at Armature Works at 4 p.m. 

The contest marked the beginning of the 'Boom by the Bay' celebration, which is already seeing a huge turn out. Everywhere from Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park to Sparkman Wharf is filled with food vendors, live entertainment and a lot of patriotism.

An "unbelievable crowd" was gathered downtown until rain began to fall briefly, Castor said. 

Competitors were given 15 hot dogs and five minutes to eat as many as possible. The winner consumed 10 hot dogs. 

Following the hot dog eating contest, a ski show was scheduled at Sparkman Wharf and a boat parade was planned to celebrate the Tampa Bay Lightning. Weather permitting, it was expected to begin at the Convention Center.

"All of that is going to be topped off by the biggest fireworks display in Tampa's history," Castor said.

The public firework displays will be held at Armature Works and Sparkman Wharf, with the largest at Bayshore Boulevard, south of the Davis Island bridge. 

"It's going to be a sight to behold," Castor told the crowd. 

The Star Spangled Sparkman Wharf celebration kicked off at 5 p.m. Attendees posed in front of a starry, red, white and blue Tampa sign and enjoyed family-friendly activities.

In light of the Illinois Fourth of July parade shooting where six people were killed, Castor encouraged attendees of the Tampa festivities to stay vigilante and report any suspicious behavior.

"There was an incredible tragedy in Chicago today," she said. "To have something like an Independence Day parade marred by gun violence is a very sad commentary."

Security is taken very seriously at all the events held in the city of Tampa, and law enforcement is prepared for the worst case scenario, she said. Security for the events is on both land and water. Undercover officers will be there, in addition to the authorities who will be visible.

    

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