Hanford Insider: Hanford's Freedom Fest & Fireworks Show

Welcome And Community Calendar

SPEAKER_01 0:01

On this episode of The Hanford Insider, we'll hear from Brad Albert about the big Hanford Freedom Fest and fireworks show coming up this Saturday, July 4th. This is the Hanford Insider for Monday, June 29th.

SPEAKER_02 0:36

Welcome to the Hanford Insider, where community meets conversation. Each week we spotlight the people, events, and ideas shaping Hanford and Kings County, sharing the positive stories that bring our community together. I'm your host, Rob Bentley. So let's get started with this week's community calendar. At this week's Thursday Night Marketplace, it's the official kickoff to the Independence Day holiday weekend with music by Exodus. The Carnegie Museum of Kings County's 2026 exhibition, Building Kings County, is open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is located 109 East 8th Street in downtown Hanford. Learn more at Carnegymuseum of Kingscounty.org. If you have an event coming up, large or small, and you'd like some help getting the word out, let's work together. Send your information to HanfordInsider at gmail.com. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a complete calendar of events. It's the most comprehensive community calendar available.

Why Hanford Is Bringing Fireworks Back

SPEAKER_02 1:51

Well, hello there, Hanford. This is Rob Bentley here with Brad Albert. We are on location at the Hanford Softball Complex. And this week, coming up on Saturday, July 4th, is the first Hanford Freedom Fest and Fireworks Show. Welcome to the show, Brad. Well, thanks, Rob. Thanks for having me. Brad, it's a beautiful day today, and I know it's going to be a beautiful day on Saturday for the fireworks show. Temperatures may not even hit 100 that day. We'll happen to we'll have to see what happens. But uh, can you give us a little bit of background to how the show all came together?

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Yeah, absolutely. So traditionally, there has not been a live fireworks show in Hanford. From my from what I've heard, eight up to eight years uh ago, we did that. So the city council thought it would be a good idea this year being the 250th birthday and to have a live fireworks show. And we just think the Hanford Softball Complex is set up very well as a venue.

SPEAKER_02 2:50

So let's talk about this complex because you know people that have been around in Hanford for a long time remember uh the shows at Hanford High, but that particular venue had some issues that uh that this venue solves, yeah?

SPEAKER_00 3:02

Well, my understanding is yeah, getting out of there and parking were a little bit of a challenge. Uh we have maybe a little bit better situation. It's summertime, so school is out. We don't have any animals in the FFA um uh behind our back here. So, and the way it's situated, we have 927 parking stalls, which is not bad. Um, we're gonna ask everybody to enter off of 13th Avenue just to keep the flow and then exiting. We have a whole traffic plan ready.

SPEAKER_02 3:34

So Centennial will actually be closed then from what, Grangeville? How far will it be closed?

SPEAKER_00 3:38

So it will be closed from Greenfield to Malone, which is the first street past the out uh ex uh access gate.

SPEAKER_02 3:46

And that allows safety. Obviously, there may be debris from the fireworks, but uh people I would imagine probably from the local neighborhoods who don't come in, they may they may pull up a chair.

SPEAKER_00 3:55

Absolutely. The the interesting thing about a brand new venue and a brand new show is folks don't know maybe quite how to orientate the best view for the fireworks. So um we think it's gonna be a great show.

SPEAKER_02 4:07

So let's talk about the neighborhood. Um obviously you had to notice uh a lot of people in the surrounding neighborhoods here, uh, even a mountain lion most recently. But uh but uh how did that uh work uh notifying residents?

SPEAKER_00 4:21

Yeah, so uh a week and a half ago, we mailed out postcards to all the surrounding neighborhoods and and and really more of a courtesy of letting them know of the Freedom Fest and fireworks show. Fireworks will be between 9.15 and 9.45. Any any uh pets or uh people sensitive to noises, um, just be aware that during that half hour um they will be uh going off over over the top of us.

Music Food Kid Zone Beer Garden

SPEAKER_02 4:52

Yeah, and it's not just a fireworks show. You've got entertainment, you've got food, you've got uh lots of uh decorations and all that. It's gonna be quite quite an event.

SPEAKER_00 5:01

Yeah, and really Freedom Fest, the really the festival kind of part of that. So the the complex will be very patriotically decorated. You'll notice that when you walk in under a red, white, and blue balloon arch. Um coming in. Um we will have um, as you mentioned, live music. We've got three really um different performers. Uh Travis Brooks will be opening. He starts at about 6:30. Um in between bands, um, Tammy from Table Mountain Casino is gonna lead us in line dancing.

SPEAKER_02 5:38

Oh, nice.

SPEAKER_00 5:39

Kind of a breakup and get folks up and moving. And then in cahoots is our main band, and they'll play right up to about 9:10. At 9:10, the lights will go off. We'll ask everybody to take their umbrellas and pop-ups down. Um, and we're gonna prepare for the fireworks show.

SPEAKER_02 5:57

Yeah. And uh, is there a beer garden? I know she has several sponsors. Uh, how does that work?

SPEAKER_00 6:01

There is. We will have a beer garden. Um, right behind us here is field four. That's our main field, uh, and that's where the stage will be out in center field. The beer garden will be more like home plate there. Um, we have a veterans group that are gonna be selling beer. We have 21 food vendors, and forgot to mention, um, a kid zone with six bounce houses for different ages, and they'll be over in field two. So kind of spread out a little bit. Um, but I think we've got plenty of room. Uh, we really don't know how many people will come. So we've got to be able to expand and contract, and I think we we have a good plan for that.

Ticket Prices VIP Seating And Parking

SPEAKER_02 6:45

So let's talk about the access to the event. I know that it was real I watched the city council meeting where they were talking about the importance of the event, and all the city council was behind behind the event 100%. But one of the things that they emphasized was the ability for families to come regardless of uh ability to pay, so there were some pi uh price cuts and such.

SPEAKER_00 7:03

Yeah, so what we landed on um with our council is um youth ages zero to seventeen are free, seniors age 55 and over are free, the adults from 18 to 54 um are five dollars. Okay, and those can be purchased online through our website or walk-up. Um we'll have it all ready to go there. So, you know, a family we we feel, you know, family if it's a mom, dad, kids, whatever configuration families are, um we want it to be affordable for folks. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:40

Um and there are people who are willing to pay for the VIP packages, and I know that you have a VIP seating and VIP parking. Uh give us a rundown of that.

SPEAKER_00 7:49

Yeah, so on field four, we'll have designated areas. We have some event, four-foot-high event fencing that we use. And in configurations of six, twelve, eighteen, and twenty four people, there'll be picnic benches, there'll be umbrellas. We have brand new umbrellas we're putting up, so some shade, and just a dedicated spot um for folks, whether it's families, businesses, extended families, that type of thing. The VIP also comes with reserve parking, which will be in the closest lot. A little bit on parking, just real quick. We will fill up lot one, which is the closest. Once that gets filled, we'll spill to lot two, which is the main Sierra Pacific parking lot. Freddie the fire engine will be shuttling. Um, it's oh, maybe a quarter of a mile at the most from there. So we know people will be lugging chairs. So they'll be making continuous trips to help those folks out.

SPEAKER_02 8:46

Yeah, I remember walking to the 4th of July firework show. I grew up in Short Acres, so we would walk down, you know, we'd walk easily a quarter mile to the stadium from our party and then walk back afterwards and see everybody's ground displays and everything. Um, so again, remind us about the parking situation. I think that's probably worth bringing up because everybody probably automatically thinks they can come in off of Centennial, but you're saying 13th is the way to come.

SPEAKER_00 9:08

Yeah, so what we do in our traffic plan is looking at the access roads within the property we're at here and Centennial. We're going to close Centennial Um Drive from Greenfield to Malone. Um, and that's basically for safety, for traffic patterns, and and all of that. That's why we're asking everybody to enter from 13th from the west side. Now, you flip it after the show, folks will be trying to get out. We'll open those gates, and it will be right-hand turn only on Centennial and on 13th. So we don't have people making left-hand turns crossing traffic. We've got um, we'll have eight security guards that will be assisting us, you know, throughout um the event. We have three Hanford police officers, and we will have a fire unit and a fire engine um on site and an ambulance. Um, we will have a cooling tent um right in the middle of the hub here. They'll have cooling fans and it will be shaded, and we'll have water there. So if anybody gets a little hot and overheats, maybe too much line dancing, um, they'll have a place. We want everyone to be safe.

Safety Planning And Citywide Coordination

SPEAKER_02 10:24

And it sounds like the coordination, I'm what I'm hearing from you is that there's been a lot of coordination between public agencies about this. Uh, tell us a little bit about the cooperation of the fire department, the city, the police department. This is a team effort, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 10:38

Yeah, we couldn't do it without those folks. I I mean this touches nearly every department within the city. Um, our streets team, for example, are providing the barriers, some of the signage, um, that type of thing. The display boards that will be out a week ahead of time, out on Lacey and Centennial. I mean, uh Lacey Centennial, Lacey 13th, Lacey Um Grangev, and Lacey 13th, kind of saying special event, Centennial will be closed from this time to this time. We just want to give plenty of notice. So, couldn't do it without our police department and our fire department. We're not exactly sure which way the winds will be blowing that night, what they call the fallout zone. Um, but we'll get quickly get a beat, I think, as we as we get into the evening on the fourth.

Launch Site Viewing Angles And Setup

SPEAKER_02 11:30

So let's talk about that launch area. So, as I understand it, it's gonna underwater right now, but it's past that fence and the drainage basin back there, yeah?

SPEAKER_00 11:38

That is correct. So the nice thing about that stormwater basin, it's fence, it's locked, keeps them away. Well, actually launch the fireworks at an angle more towards um um uh center field right here. That's why that stage is kind of the center point viewing uh where those fireworks will be going off. So we think it is gonna be a great show and gives them a private space to set up. They'll be here early the day of. Uh we're contracting with um Fireworks for America, one of the biggest firework providers in the country.

SPEAKER_02 12:12

Yeah, that's fantastic. And for those of you who haven't been out here before, right over uh my shoulder here is the Hanford Joint Union High School District farm. And they usually have animals there uh during the school year and before the fair, but as luck would have it, the fairs happened and uh all the animals are away for now until next school year. So uh nice cooperation with the high school district. And I think that's another team member. Uh you mentioned so many different cooperating departments. I think the high school. Um actually, you know, having been to shows at Hanford High and um looking at this facility, I think this facility is going to be great. It's not the bowl. You know, everybody has the but the bowl's not the bowl. The remodel is just fantastic on that. We've had uh Victor Rosa on the show about that. But looking at it, uh the restroom facilities, the concession facilities, everything is nice and all together. And the surrounding neighborhoods, they're going to benefit from being able to see a big show right in their own backyard.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

Yeah, we think this venue it sets up really well for us. There's enough space to expand our contract, depending on the volume. Um, road access is not terrible, and I think we have a really good plan of routing people in and out of the facility. We looked at some other locations, and just because proximity of other uh of other neighborhoods and and and nuisance maybe to folks, we thought this we're gonna try it here.

SPEAKER_02 13:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:42

And but there what I like is there's one entrance really and an excess, so we're able to kind of control the flow a bit. And again, you mentioned restrooms, we're bringing in 25 porta potties. Oh, yeah. In addition to our regular restrooms, male and female, our concession um stand will be open. We also have 21 food and drink vendors that will be here, and they'll be lined right basically where we are here and between fields three and four over here. So kind of pretty tight. We know parents will be over at the kids' zone watching the kids bounce because that's where I think they're gonna want to be, uh, and people want to keep an eye on it. So we we think it's a great layout.

SPEAKER_02 14:26

Yeah. Well, it sounds like a great show, Brad. I'm looking forward um to coming and watching the beautiful fireworks display that Hanford hasn't had in a long time. I know uh different uh service organizations had taken on taken it on over the years and even went out to the fairgrounds one year and wasn't so successful. So I'm glad to see that the city of Hanford is doing this for the community.

Cost Illegal Fireworks And Future Plans

SPEAKER_02 14:50

And has there been any talk about? I know it's early yet, we haven't even had this one yet. Is there talk about this being an annual event or are we just gonna kind of see how this goes?

SPEAKER_00 14:58

I think it's a wait and see a little bit. Um fireworks are are are pretty expensive. It's about a dollar a minute. A thousand dollars a minute, sorry. I wish it was uh a a dollar about a thousand dollars a minute. We've done drone shows in the past, and we just felt, you know, maybe with real fireworks, it may deter, may, um, illegal fireworks. And as you know, our fire department is launching a it's not worth it campaign, and and we're really pushing that really, really hard. So we just hope people will come and enjoy a professional show and get their firework fix, uh so to speak, um uh here and and and just enjoying the music, the community, your neighbors here. Um, we think it will be a great social event for folks, and we'll we'll wait and see. Um, you know, council was very um generous with their uh allocation of funding for this. So uh we we want to do some cost recovery. We don't know what that percent will be yet, but we'll we'll take a good look at it. First and foremost, a safe event is is really the key to this this whole thing.

SPEAKER_02 16:12

Yeah, and there'll be some bumps along the road, and that's how you learn. Uh it's gonna be a great event. And Brad, thank you for sharing this. You're welcome. And uh, as we close out our third season of the Hanford Insider Podcast, you're our final guest in season three, and I just want to thank you for your willingness to always come out and talk about the great things going on in town.

SPEAKER_00 16:30

Well, I always appreciate you, Rob, and and the Hanford Insider for just educating the community, making them aware of all the wonderful things that happen in the Hanford community. It it is really wonderful.

SPEAKER_02 16:42

Thanks, Brent.

Season Three Thanks Summer Break

SPEAKER_02 16:49

Well, that wraps things up for this week's show. And as we wrap up season three of the Hanford Insider Podcast, I want to sincerely thank each and every one of you for your support. Over the past three years and 165 episodes, I've had the privilege of meeting some incredible people, sharing inspiring stories and highlighting the positive things happening throughout our community. Thank you to every guest who trusted me with their story, every listener who tuned in each week, and every supporter who helped make this podcast possible. Your trust and encouragement mean more to me than you know. While I'm taking a short summer break, the podcast won't be completely quiet. Over the next three weeks, I'll be sharing some best of episodes featuring conversations and stories that listeners particularly enjoyed. Whether you're hearing them again or for the first time, I hope you'll enjoy revisiting some of the highlights from the past three years. And if you need your Hanford Insider fix, you can always visit HanfordInsider.com to listen to any of the previous episodes and catch up on some stories you may have missed. All new episodes will return on July 27th as we begin season four. Thanks for listening to the Hanford Insider Podcast, and we'll see you right back here with all new shows on July 27th.