COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --
Today, Columbus Air Force Base will partner with dozens of community partners to present Fireworks on the Water 2016.
The event is a free and open-to-the-public Independence Day celebration at the east bank of the John C. Stennis Lock and Dam. The evening will feature children’s activities, vendors, a free concert and an 18-minute fireworks show -- basically something for everyone to enjoy.
Fireworks on the Water is fully funded by the local community and is sponsored by Visit Columbus, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the City of Columbus and Lowndes County as well as Columbus Air Force Base. These organizations have banded together in order to provide a fitting tribute to our nation’s history for the community and the members of Columbus AFB.
But the busy Airman, the hardworking spouse, and the DoD civilian may be wondering, “Why should I come out to Fireworks on the Water?”
You should come because it’s going to be a great event. Musical talent this year includes local rock band Johnny Coleman & Swing Shift and will be headlined by Nashville country/pop singer Danika Portz, fresh off an overseas tour. Children’s activities include bouncy castles, clowns, and Mother Goose. Tantalizing treats such as barbecue, pizza, turkey legs, funnel cakes and ice cream all await you.
More importantly, you should come because America’s Independence deserves to be celebrated. After all, when is the last time you thought about the meaning behind July 4?
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Those words, written in 1776 by Thomas Jefferson, set the foundation for what would eventually become the United States of America. Two hundred and forty years later these ideals continue to be the bond holding the nation strong, through wars, bitter depression, calamity, and ideological clashes threatening to tear us apart. Each time conflict has tried dividing us we have always come out of it stronger, united by these ideals.
These ideals live on through America’s greatest asset: the American people.
Americans believe in a world where all mankind deserves equality, freedom, and the opportunity to seek their own purpose in life. From the Revolutionary War to the Civil Rights movement, we continue to proactively seek a better tomorrow than the today we were given.
No matter who you are, on the Fourth of July we are all Americans. Come celebrate the history of this remarkable nation with us at Fireworks on the Water 2016.