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Fireworks season is kicking off next Wednesday at 9 p.m. with a spectacular display on the beaches at Second and Fourth avenues, and up to 20,000 spectators are expected to pour into town for a view.

“We’re excited for the fantastic display that we’re sure is going to please the crowd,” said Carrie Turner, director of retail services at Madison Marquette.

The Fourth of July fireworks this year are a joint effort between Madison Marquette, Asbury Partners and the city, said Councilman James Bruno. The show will take place next Wednesday, July 4, and Madison Marquette will host fireworks displays every Wednesday through July and August after that.

The display on Wednesday “is going to be much more spectacular than what we do on a normal Wednesday night,” Turner said. “It’s a huge kickoff for the summer’s seasonal fireworks.”

The annual fireworks show has been going on “forever,” Bruno said. “I remember going to see them in the 1960s.”

Bruno, the former chair of the city’s now-defunct Fourth of July committee, said the size of the fireworks show was doubled in 2004 when the committee was formed, and tripled a few years later.

Last year, 15,000 to 20,000 people turned up for the show. And due to the cancellation of Red Bank’s KaBoom show, even more spectators are expected this year, Bruno said.

The city is contributing funds from the Fourth of July committee, Bruno said. The committee disbanded this year due to lack of volunteer turnout. Because of this, there will be no Fourth of July parade this year. The parade was held each Independence Day from 2004 through last year.

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Photo courtesy of Madison Marquette.

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