By Suzanne Schmidt
An evening full of entertainment, fair food and a finale of fireworks will be in store for visitors to Sparklebration.
The Pasco County Fairgrounds, 37622 SR 52, will be full of vendors serving everything from candied apples, corn dogs and funnel cakes along with entertainment and lots of activities for children. The event starts at 4 p.m. July 4 and will end after the fireworks that are slated to start at 9:15 p.m.
Tracy Thompson is on the board of directors for the Pasco County Fair Association as well as the co-chair of the event. He said he loves to volunteer to organize the event because it is such an important celebration since it is the only place in Pasco County where people can see a professional fireworks display on the Fourth.
Visitors to the fair will be entertained by a magician show by Steven Marcus, an Elvis impersonator Kenn E. Grube and the animal show Amazing Animals Around the World in the Dan Cannon Auditorium. Also, parachutists will drop from the sky carrying American flags at 5:15 p.m.
“Ken and Greg Suarez will be showing animals from around the world,” Thompson said. “They will show how animals and people get along in the ecosystem. I think it is a good show to have because people need to learn more about the ecosystem with what is going on in the Gulf. You could say that is the going green part of the event.”
Ashley Shannon of Zephyrhills will be singing country at the event at 5:30 p.m. at the Dan Cannon Auditorium and at 7:15 p.m. on the outdoor stage. She said she plans to sing a few of her originals and some covers from her favorite country singers Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert.
“It is fun to go to Sparklebration and just hang out with my friends and family and eat junk food,” Shannon said. “I like singing where I can when I can. I like to sing at Sparklebration because I get to perform and see fireworks when I am done.”
Before the fireworks, The Dennis Lee Show will perform at 8 p.m. on the outdoor stage.
“Dennis Lee is a favorite in the fair market,” Thompson said. “He plays pop, country and a little bit of rock and roll with some comedy in the show as well. He has been at the fair before. He really pulls a crowd.”
Fran Goh will paint faces and Fritzy Brothers, a one-man circus, will stroll the fairgrounds entertaining visitors.
There will be plenty of entertainment for children this year as well.
“We wanted to add something for the kids to do,” Thompson said. “We will have carnival games and bounce houses and slides.”
Carnival fare will be available including barbecue sandwiches, cotton candy, popcorn, candied apples, hotdogs, corn dogs, fried chicken, boiled peanuts, pizza, Italian ice, ice cream and kettle corn.
“We have added Mexican food this year as well,” Thompson said. “We have also brought back funnel cakes because they are so popular.”
One big draw is the eating contests.
“The apple pie eating contest, watermelon eating contest and the hot dog eating contests seem to be a big hit,” Thompson said. “We have five age categories and the first 15 to sign up for the contest get to compete. The winners get a trophy.”
The fireworks by Zambelli Fireworks are scheduled to launch at 9:15 p.m. Attendees are invited to bring chairs and blankets to watch the fireworks. Thompson said some people show up as early as 4 p.m. to just hang out and wait.
Thompson said the most important thing he wants people to know is that the event is funded by the nonprofit Pasco County Fair Association.
“We need people to realize we don’t receive any funding from the county whatsoever,” Thompson said. “We are a nonprofit organization and we are only able purchase the fireworks and pay for the entertainment because of our sponsors. We do this because it is our way of giving back to the community.”
The volunteers who do everything from work the front gate to the people coordinating the entertainment and the food make the fair possible. Thompson himself has been a volunteer for 12 years with the organization.
“It takes many volunteers to put this on,” Thompson said. “All the people that work the fair are volunteers. If not for the volunteers, we would not be able to put this on.”
The cost is $5 for parking and $3 for admission for adults. Children ages 10 and younger are admitted free. For more information, visit www.sparklebration.com or call (352) 567-6678.
