COLUMBUS, Ohio — After nearly three years, Red, White & BOOM! is coming back to downtown Columbus.
This year's event will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the fireworks show as 400,000 visitors are expected to attend this year.
The street festival begins at 11 a.m. on Friday before the fireworks are fired from the east bank of Genoa Park at 10 p.m. Genoa Park will be closed to the public from Monday through Saturday.
Visitors can begin setting up at 6 p.m. Thursday. Police request that personal canopies, tarps and blankets are not set up until Friday.
Police say areas should be marked with items that don't present a danger as stakes and posts are prohibited.
Additionally, Bicentennial Park restrooms will be closed on July 1 and the Scioto Mile Fountain will be turned off Thursday at 6 p.m. and will resume operation Saturday at 11 a.m.
Schedule
- 10 a.m. - Event opens to the public
- 11 a.m. - BOOM! street festival opens
- Noon - Live music begins
- 5:30 p.m. - Ford Oval of Honor Parade
- 10 p.m. - Fireworks
Prohibited Items
- Fireworks
- Portable grills
- Pools
- Generators
- Alcohol (May be purchased and consumed at the Beer Gardens, on Long Street, Spring Street, Civic Center Drive, Main Street, and Washington Boulevard.)
Street closures
- Washington Blvd from Broad St. to Main St. currently is closed
- Civic Center Dr. from Broad St. to Main St. will close Wednesday at 9 a.m. through Saturday
- Spring St. from Neil Ave. to Marconi Blvd. will close Thursday at 9 a.m. through Saturday at 6 a.m.
- Note: Spring St. will have one lane open on Thursday and Friday evenings for rush hour leaving downtown, 4 to 6 p.m.
- Long St. from Hocking St. to Marconi Blvd. will close Thursday at 9 a.m. through Saturday at 6 a.m.
- Note: Long St. will have one lane open on Thursday and Friday mornings for rush hour coming downtown, 6 to 9 a.m.
- Marconi Blvd. from Long St. to Broad St. will close Thursday at 5 p.m. through Saturday at 6 a.m.
- Several downtown streets will close Friday at 2 p.m. for the parade to form, with additional street closures occurring during the parade from approximately 5 p.m. until 7:30 p.m.
- For the fireworks, all streets in the area bounded by Spring St. on the north, 3rd St. on the east, Mound St. on the south and McDowell St. on the west will close Friday from 5:30 p.m. through midnight.
To view a map and a list of complete details of street closures, click here.
Parking restrictions
On-street parking restrictions will be taking effect throughout the downtown business district leading up to the event. The city says most will begin after 10 p.m. Thursday and last until 6 a.m. Saturday.
The ParkColumbus mobile payment app will remind users before they activate a parking session about parking restrictions. The reminder message will appear on the app from 6 a.m. Friday until 6 a.m. Saturday.
To view a full map of parking restrictions, click here.
COTA extended service
COTA will be providing expanded transit to and from downtown with extended local service and express service from five park and ride locations.
Express Service from those locations will begin at 5:30 p.m. and continue until 8:30 p.m.
There will also be an increased frequency of service traveling downtown on most fixed-route lines until approximately 9 p.m. and extended to at least midnight on downtown lines.
After the fireworks, COTA express lines and regular local service will leave downtown Columbus from designated boarding zones along High Street from State Street to Nationwide Boulevard at approximately 10:45 p.m., 11:30 p.m. and midnight.
For more information from COTA, click here.
Missing children's booth
The Columbus Division of Police will staff five missing person booths beginning at 2:30 p.m. Friday. The locations for the booths are:
- W. Long Street at the NS Railroad Tracks
- West Street South of Marconi Blvd.
- W. Broad Street at N. Front Street
- F/O 200 Civic Center Drive
- Washington Blvd. and W. Rich Street (across from COSI)
Police will also be providing an identification bracelet and registration for children. Parents are encouraged to visit a booth and complete a registration form.