OCALA, Fla. – Instead of lighting up the skies with fireworks, the City of Ocala is taking a slightly different approach this Independence Day with what it’s calling the Patriotic Skies drone show for the city’s first-ever Fourth of July event.
Public Information Officer for the City of Ocala, Greg Davis, said they’ve received a lot of positive feedback about the upcoming drone show, and said they wanted to do something inclusive and environmentally friendly for the community.
“We haven’t told anybody exactly what the drones are going to do,” Davis said. “But we’re trying to make it a surprise, but with it being Independence Day and the 4th of July, I think you could probably put your mind together and figure out some of the images that would probably be out there.”
Davis said while there have been Fourth of July events in Ocala in the past, the city has never hosted an event of its own.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
He said fireworks shows put on by other organizations stopped in recent years and they saw a need for Ocala to have a celebration of its own.
Davis estimates 10,000 people could fill Tuscawilla Park on Thursday.
“We’re always trying to think of innovative ways that we can take care of our citizens,” Davis said. “We came up with this drone show idea, and we’ve been getting a lot of great positive feedback, people from other counties, other cities. So it’s not just the citizens of Ocala who are getting to enjoy this, but our neighboring communities as well.”
Food truck vendors like Brick and Ember are also part of Thursday’s event. Manager Nicholas Seidel said they’re looking forward to serving up slices this July 4.
“We have our typical pizzas which are, you know, cheese, pepperoni, veggies and just the typical normal pizzas,” Seidel said. “And then we have our specialties, which are brisket, mac and cheese, and our chicken bacon ranch which is like our other specialty and it’s all wood-fired, Neapolitan style, crispy, light good pizza.”
Seidel said he’s hoping this event will lead them to participate in more city events in the future.
“We’re hoping to get some good exposure here and get known in Ocala,” Seidel said. “We love it here and we’d really like to make a presence here.”
Thursday’s event is free and will take place at Tuscawilla Park from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Davis recommends bringing blankets or chairs to watch the show. For more information on the event, click here.
You can listen to every episode of Florida’s Fourth Estate in the media player below: