The City of Gulfport would like to invite you to their Fourth of July celebration in the city's Waterfront District. The holiday falls on a Saturday this year, and the festivities will be going all day!
The fun starts at 8:00 am, with a Kid’s Fishing Derby at the Recreation Center seawall, which lasts until 11:00. Registration for the derby will begin bright and early, at 7:30 am.
From 10:00 am to 12:00 noon, there will be a free Family Sandcastle Contest on Gulfport Beach. The contest theme is “red, white and blue,” and the event is sponsored by the Gulfport Recreation Division. Registration for the contest begins at 9:30 am.
City staff will also be on Gulfport Beach from noon to 6:00 pm, with a variety of free kid friendly activities.
From 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, there will be an array of cars on display at the annual Auto Show on Beach Blvd. S (towards 54th St. S). From 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm, vendors will offer artwork, crafts, food and patriotic souvenirs, and beginning at 5:00 pm, 60s Groove will entertain the crowds with music from the flower-power era.
The community Independence Day parade will begin at 6:00 pm, making its way southbound down Beach Boulevard to the Gulfport Casino, then heading west on Shore Boulevard to 58th Street South.
The grand finale of the Fourth of July fun will of course be a spectacular display of fireworks, kicking off at 9:00 pm.
There will be street closures, starting at 6:00 am on Beach Boulevard (from 31st Ave to Shore Boulevard), Shore Boulevard (from 54th Street South to 56th Street South), and 54th Street South (South of Essex Ave.). Beach Boulevard south of 28th Avenue S. to 31st Ave. S. will also be closed temporarily for the parade, from 5:45 to 6:30 pm.
With all the street closures to make room for the festivities, the city trolley will run from 4:00 to 11:00 pm to provide rides to and from the designated parking areas, which will be at the Library (5501 28th Ave S.), the Senior Center Theatre (5501 27th Ave S.), Hoyt Field (2306 56th St. S), Chase Park (54th St. S and 28th Ave S.) and Ted Phillips Wood Ibis Park (58th St. S. and 28th Ave. S.).
