This year’s Ford Fireworks along the downtown Detroit riverfront will feature new events, including free park passes for Belle Isle, a student VIP viewing zone, an expanded vintage planes flyover, a pop-up party event, and a social media contest.
“(The Fireworks are) a big community event,” says Eric Mitchell, a spokesperson for Ford Motor Co. Fund. “We’re coming up with ways to open up more opportunities to help more people to take part in this celebration.”
During the fireworks show next Monday, Ford will offer free admission to Belle Isle by providing Michigan Department of Natural Resources Recreation Passports to the first 1,000 cars that arrive to the isle to view the show. The pass can be used at all participating state parks for the remainder of the year.
There will also be a reserved VIP student viewing section at the fireworks show for 3,000 Detroit-area students and their families. Students will be selected to participate based on academic grades and community service hours.
Partnering with the Yankee Air Museum in Belleville, an expanded vintage planes flyover featuring six or more World War II-era airplanes will also be presented at this year’s show.
Prior to the fireworks, attendees will have the opportunity to win free promotional gear, participate in games, and listen to live music by the Ford Fusion Marching Band at Ford Pop-Up Parties on Belle Isle and at Hart Plaza.
Ford is also running a social media contest during this year’s fireworks. To enter, attendees must snap a photo at the show and post it on Instagram with the hashtag #FordFireworks2016. Winners will receive a plane ride from the Yankee Air Museum.
“Ford has never wavered in its support for the people and communities of Southeast Michigan,” says Jim Vella, president of Ford Motor Co. Fund. “The Ford Fireworks is a celebration of our common heritage as Americans, while also embracing the diversity that makes us stronger as a community and showcases the pride we share of being Detroiters.”
“Ford has never wavered in its support for the people and communities of Southeast Michigan,” says Jim Vella, president of Ford Motor Co. Fund. “The Ford Fireworks is a celebration of our common heritage as Americans, while also embracing the diversity that makes us stronger as a community and showcases the pride we share of being Detroiters.”
This year’s show, the 58th year of the Ford Fireworks, will include more than 10,000 pyrotechnic effects visible along the Detroit River.
The Ford Fireworks can be viewed on WDIV-TV (Channel 4) with a live broadcast beginning at 7 p.m. The show will begin around 9:45 p.m. News/Talk 760 WJR will do a special radio simulcast throughout the event.
For more information, visit theparade.org.
