July 4th – Celebration

Terry and I drove down to Celebration to catch the fireworks display. When we first entered the complex, there was a parking lot where we could then catch a bus to the downtown festivities. The place was packed and there was a huge crowd surrounding the main stage where an Elvis impersonator was singing and a group of 1950’s dancers were performing. I didn’t feel like sketching the huge crowd or the ever changing dancers so I wandered until I found a nice relaxing spot next to this Chinese food concession stand. The meals were prepared to order so the cook was in constant motion trying to keep up with the demand. Right next to the Chinese food was a beer tent which had just as much of a demand.
Several times mothers stopped to point out the artist to their children. I never stopped working and in time they wandered off. On little girl kept watch for close to half an hour before being dragged off to find a perfect fireworks viewing spot. Terry wandered around and found us a spot behind the hotel where she wanted to go to view the display. When the sketch was finished we went over to the hotel. There was now a guard at the door who told us we had to be guests of the hotel in order to get in. Terry was furious since she had gotten in earlier. We finally sat down on a grassy knoll and relaxed. There was a dramatic count down from ten but it was a false alarm. When the fireworks finally lit up the sky they were dramatic and well timed to the music. I saw some explosions that were new to me. Some mortars had secondary sparks which then buzzed away like bees. Terry and I muscled our way out of the crowd before the last of the mortars lit up the sky. Our bus was the first to leave the crowded downtown area.