Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival Wraps Up

By Jill Kasparie, Reporter

Fireworks paint the sky during the annual Cedar Boat Club Fireworks along the Cedar River on Sunday, July 3, 2011, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (SourceMedia Group News/Jim Slosiarek)

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By Ellen Kurt

Story Created: Jul 4, 2012 at 5:56 AM CDT

Story Updated: Jul 4, 2012 at 10:43 AM CDT

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - People across the U.S. will spend Wednesday celebrating 236 years of freedom.

Events are springing up across Cedar Rapids to wrap up the Freedom Festival, which started on June 21.

The CVRA 5th Season Races started at 7:00 Wednesday morning. Hundreds filled the New Bohemia District to take part in the event. It’s the longest running 8K in the U.S. and the 27th year for the event. People also took part in a 5K and kids’ run.

With soaring temperatures, Race Director Colin Flynn said his team was ready with liquids to keep participants hydrated.

“We have a good support staff out there, too, if people need some sort of beverage or something out on the course, we can get that to them in a hurry,” Flynn said.

The day concludes with a bang in Cedar Rapids. The annual Freedom Festival fireworks display begins at about 9:30 p.m. in downtown Cedar Rapids.

J & M Displays started working on putting together the massive show Tuesday morning. Workers said they would continue working on it Wednesday and finish up a couple of hours before the show. According to pyro technicians, the show will be much bigger than last year’s show. They spend a lot of time wiring the show. Then, it all goes off with the push of a single button.

"We do a choreographed show. The show is all computerized; it's all shot automatic. What takes forever is every tube out there has a shell in it and it has to be wired up to the computer consul,” said Lead Pyro technician Paul Myres.

Organizers are expecting thousands to attend.

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