Fireworks sales on the Coast

It’s almost the Fourth of July, which means it is time to fire up your grills and lather your skin in sunscreen. With clear and sunny weather for the holiday, many people are swarming last minute to firework stands.
The sounds of fireworks heard throughout the Coast can only mean one thing: it’s almost the Fourth of July. Firework stands have been popping up all over the Coast and even with multiple huge firework shows planned for the holiday, business was not exploding for many of these family run stands. Virginia Anderson with Snap Krackle Pop Fireworks said, “It’s been slow. We thought it was going to pick up, but it hasn’t really picked up with the weather the way it has been and the rain, we had to shut down for three days because of Cindy and move everything out so we are just hoping that between today and tomorrow it picks up.”
The wet weather is not the only thing that has been slowing down business. Karen Stiglet with Lawlers Firework Stand said, “A lot of people we know are working today and it will probably pick up more this afternoon and you know in the morning. Tomorrow, the Fourth of July, it is really busy. I mean, everybody comes then.”
If you plan on lighting a few fireworks to celebrate the holiday, you want to make sure you do so safely and legally. “People are asking where can you shoot the fireworks and they are telling us that basically outside the city limits, at the beach is pretty good as long as you clean your mess up,” said Stiglet.
Harrison County is not allowing the discharge of fireworks within the city, but they are allowing it on the beach up until the fourth. In Biloxi, the area between the Small Craft Harbor and Oak Street will be a fireworks free zone for the fourth.
Biloxi’s mile-long fireworks-free zone on east beach extends from Oak Street to the Biloxi Small Craft Harbor. It’s exclusively set aside for watching the 25-minute city fireworks show, which begins at 9pm on July 4. The best viewing is from the Biloxi Lighthouse eastward to the Biloxi Bay Bridge.
The City of Gulfport has its own fireworks-free zone from 15th Street to Hwy 49, South of Hwy 90. The fireworks are set to begin near the Gulfport Harbor at 8:45pm on July 4. The best viewing locations are Jones Park, Gulfport Municipal Marina, and the beach south of Hwy 90 west of Hewes Avenue.