LAURINBURG — People parked their cars and set up chairs wherever they could in preparation for the city of Laurinburg’s 16th annual fireworks display.
Hundreds of vehicles piled into the field and parking lot surrounding Cross Pointe Church, which sits directly across the street from Pate Stadium where the fireworks were being shot off. The prime location made the church’s 25-acre campus the place to be, according to pastor Michael Edds.
“We have over 500 cars parked around out facility,” Edds said. “It was like a big family reunion, people set up lawn chairs and walked around talking to each other and just having a great time of fellowship. It was great, that’s the way a hometown should be.”
Edds said the most amazing part was after all the cars cleared out there was not a single piece of trash left behind.
“We just wanted to be good neighbors to the community and plan on allowing people to park here again next year,” he said.
Some families set up lawn chairs, others sat on the tailgates of trucks and some sat in their cars with the windows down. Children ran around the with sparklers and glow sticks waiting for the sun to go down.
The 20-minute light show put on by East Coast Pyrotechnics started just after dark and quickly quieted the crowd as people oohed and aahed over the explosions of color in the sky.
As the display kicked into full gear, people pulled off the side of the U.S. 401 to watch and were greeted with a different set of flashing lights. Laurinburg police officers patrolled the road, turning their lights on to encourage people not to pull off and watch the fireworks.
One young onlooker told her parents that she was going to take a few steps back from the fireworks because when they exploded in the air she felt like “they are shooting at my face.” The girl’s mother explained the fireworks would fizzle out before reaching her and wouldn’t do her any harm.
After the display ended people packed up to head home, talking about which type of firework was their favorite. For members of the Locklear, Boone, Norris, Oxendine and Howell families the grand finale was the portion they enjoyed most.
Some of the members enjoyed the fireworks that created a small explosion and a loud bang, while others were fans of the fireworks that exploded and went all different directions in the sky.
The fireworks display cost the city $13,200 — an increase of $1,200 from last year.
Amber Hatten-Staley can be reached at 910-506-3170 or [email protected].
