Parades, festivals and fireworks displays are happening across Florida during this Fourth of July but try something different with these unusual events.
Celebrate Independence and Bivalves in Cedar Key
Now celebrating its seventh year, Clamerica is an ode to the island’s farm-raised clams. In addition to live music, a parade and fireworks finale, Clamerica includes a blessing of clams, clam cook-off and clam bag races. Attendees can also see clam farming exhibits and demonstrations of clam shucking and cooking. Clam chowder, a clam bake and steamed clams are some of the food items available. The event received the Southeast Tourism Society Top 20 Event designation for July 2010.
The Seventh Annual Clamerica takes place on Sunday, July 4 and admission is free. Events take place between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. at City Park and Beach on Cedar Key. Cedar Key is located on Florida’s Gulf coast near the Big Bend region. Contact the Cedar Key Chamber of Commerce for additional information. (Tel: 352-543-5600)
Swim for Freedom in Charlotte Harbor
Hundreds of participants will dip into Charlotte Harbor to celebrate America during the annual Freedom Swim on July 4. The swim is not a race and has no rules but is a gloriously unorganized blobblefest where participants have been known to wear red, white and blue attire while some take the meaning of freedom literally. Participants have used foam noodles, rafts and fins to finish the 1.5 mile swim across the Peace River to Fishermen’s Village in Punta Gorda.
The 19th Annual Freedom Swim begins with an 8:55 a.m. discussion with swimmers followed by a 9 a.m. swim start from the small beach on the north end of the southbound U.S. 41 bridge in Charlotte Harbor. Swimmers are responsible for their own safety. Charlotte Harbor is located in Southwest Florida between Fort Myers and Sarasota. (Tel: 941-661-5622)
Commune with Florida Everglades Wildlife for Half the Price
Billie Swamp Safari on the Big Cypress Seminole Reservation is giving visitors a 50 percent discount on one of the following activities: airboat ride, swamp buggy tour, Snake & Alligator Show, or Swamp Critter Show, when wearing an American flag on July 4. The flag can be a hat, shirt, patch or pin and the promotion cannot be combined with other offers.
Big Cypress Seminole Reservation is located in the Everglades off I-75 (Alligator Alley) between Naples and Fort Lauderdale. Airboat rides and swamp buggy tours lead visitors into the Florida wilderness to see flora and fauna of the Everglades. Airboat rides cost $15 for an adult while the swamp buggy tour is $25. (Tel: 863-983-6101)
See Patriotic Pedal Pushers in Delray Beach
Most of the Independence Day festivities in Delray Beach are like those celebrated in other cities with a hot dog eating contest, free musical entertainment and fireworks finale. What makes this celebration unusual is the Patriotic Bike & Scooter Parade which begins at Veterans Park at 4 p.m. and proceeds east along Atlantic Ave. to the Delray Beach Marriott. Patriotic participants are encouraged to decorate their bikes and scooters for an opportunity to win various prizes. A sand sculpting exhibition takes place earlier in the day on the beach between A1A and Atlantic Ave.
Festivities take place July 4 and contact the Delray Beach Downtown Marketing Cooperative for additional information (Tel: 561-279-1380, ext.17). Delray Beach is located on Florida’s east coast, about 30 minutes south of Palm Beach.
Celebrate Fourth of July Differently in Florida, 2010
Parades, festivals and fireworks displays are happening across Florida during this Independence Day but go for the unusual and start a new tradition whether it be riding through the wilds of the Everglades or cheering on patriotic pedal pushers.
Jennifer Huber - A 20-year veteran of the tourism industry, Jennifer's career path began during college when she followed the hiking path in Yellowstone ...
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