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This Year's 4th On Flagler Will Be EPIC! · Inside West Palm Beach

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  Welcome to Inside West Palm Beach. I'm
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  Gerry Marcelo. Hey, got plans for the
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  Fourth of July this year? On today's show
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  we're gonna be sharing details on what
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  may be the biggest, most spectacular,
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  fourth on Flagler in many years. Stand by
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  because this thing's going to be epic.
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  And joining me today is Angela Poco,
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  Marketing and Community Events Manager
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  for the City of West Palm Beach. Welcome
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  back, Angela. Thank you for having me.
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  You know, we're gonna have a lot, lot,
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  lot, big conversation
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  today about fourth on
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  Flagler. But before we get started, how
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  does one become a Marketing and Community
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  West Palm Beach? What's your story?
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  Where'd you come
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  from? Wow, that, that is a
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  story. I have been in the event industry
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  for almost 30 years. Wow. Originally I
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  was thinking I was gonna be a lawyer and
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  then I worked for this company and sat
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  next to this woman that I was just
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  fascinated with what she did. And when I
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  asked her, she's like, "Oh, I'm planning
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  a national sales
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  meeting." I'm like, "Okay."
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  And at that point I was like, "I want to
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  do what she's doing."
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  Yeah. And that's kind
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  of where my career just went, "Fwoop!"
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  Like this. And you
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  know, I've had the privilege
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  of planning all over the country and for
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  so many different countries and
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  individuals or you know, companies and
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  individuals. And it, it really is
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  something that you truly love. And you
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  know, I used to try to explain this to
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  people, if you truly love what you do,
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  you never really work a day in your life.
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  Yeah. And subsequently that's gotten me
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  to the city where I've been for 16 years.
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  Yes. Just got to plan locally and for a
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  community and I, that has brought me so
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  much joy. Well, you know, actually
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  thinking about planning, being an event
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  planner, not only do you have to have
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  sort of a type A personality, you also
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  have to be a really well organized type A
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  personality. Well, it's, it's interesting
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  because you know, you develop skills as
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  you go and you do have to be organized
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  and you do have to be detailed and you
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  have to be focused. But it's crazy
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  sometimes how all that comes together and
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  the people that you work with, they
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  provide you strength and it's truly is a
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  team effort. Like you can't do it by
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  yourself. And a lot of what we do at the
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  city, it's not even just our department.
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  It takes the city to be able to produce
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  an event, especially like this one.
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  And our holiday one. So, you know, it's
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  not just the event planners that plan.
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  It's the city that helps plan and keep
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  people safe. So we're very fortunate.
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  Yeah, very fortunate. And you made a
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  great point that something like a fourth
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  on Flagler requires input and effort from
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  so many different departments
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  throughout the city. It's not just you
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  guys, although you guys are at the very
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  top of the organizing and making things
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  happen sort of situation, you guys are
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  tireless, but you got all these different
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  specialties and disciplines
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  that all have to come together, all have
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  to be there on a certain day at a
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  certain time to make everything come
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  together. Right. And
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  again, like, you know,
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  people don't always realize that when
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  they're out there enjoying their day off,
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  they're off like we're behind the scenes
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  making it work. But again, like we chose
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  that. So I always laugh because, you
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  know, we get to choose it, but it does
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  come with, you know, a price sometimes
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  with the fact that you do miss your
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  family, but then you learn. And I learned
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  at a very young age, make your family
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  part of it. So my family grew up with me
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  doing this and they just know, like
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  sometimes they're an extra hand. My kids
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  have all been in character with
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  different things. You know, my husband
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  has helped participate in and handed
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  things out and moved a table. So it
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  really does become that's what our
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  celebration is about. You know, yes,
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  we're together, maybe
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  not traditionally, but
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  we're together giving people the
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  opportunity to make memories and, you
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  know, just make their day better for
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  whatever reason. Yeah. Well, it's great.
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  And you mentioned how fourth on Flagler
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  has through the decades and years have
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  become, become a tradition. So, and it's
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  interesting because
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  for me, fourth, fourth
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  of July is my favorite holiday of all.
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  And I'll tell you why. When you go to
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  Christmas, there are certain things you
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  have to do. It is time to get up in the
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  morning and get the, you know, the
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  cinnamon buns in the oven and get the
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  coffee ready and the kids will come out
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  and it has to happen this way. Then on
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  Thanksgiving, you have the turkey and you
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  have to have the can of cranberry
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  sauce and so and so. It's programmed.
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  It's all programmed.
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  Whereas fourth of July is
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  a magnificent event where you do what you
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  want. You can go ahead and have a
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  hot dog. You want it. You want the pizza.
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  You want to have a rose goose. You could
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  do, you can do whatever you want.
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  Absolutely. In a way, fourth on Flagler,
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  even though it is a thing that people
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  have come to count on and look forward
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  to, it's sort of free flowing. It seems
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  to change from year
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  to year. It does. And,
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  you know, it's an interesting question
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  that I get asked all the time. How do we
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  make it different? And for us, we get the
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  opportunity to theme it differently.
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  But this is our 38th fourth on Flagler.
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  That's amazing. So
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  long before I was around,
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  this magnificent event started and, you
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  know, it's just watching it evolve and
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  some of the different themes we've had
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  over the years allows us that creativity
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  to keep things fresh and keep things, you
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  know, moving in a different direction.
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  So every year is different. Every year is
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  a little bit different.
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  People could come back and expect
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  something different every time.
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  But the nice thing about it too is
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  there's also certain
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  things that stay the same.
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  So, you know, we know we're going to have
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  fireworks, you know.
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  We know there's going
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  to be entertainment. There'll be food.
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  There'll be beverage. Those things stay
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  the same. It's the elements that you add
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  to it that brings it to life and makes
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  things a little bit different. That's
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  what keeps it a
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  success. How many people did
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  you have last year? Over 75,000. 75,000
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  folks coming down to the waterfront.
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  That's amazing. That's fantastic. So one
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  of the things I noticed is this year
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  we're referring to it as the event is
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  being epic. Yes. Tell me about what's
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  going to make this year epic. So, you
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  know, when we were
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  first like talking about
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  themes and stuff, everybody knows it is
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  America 250. Like we are celebrating 250
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  years of our country. That's fantastic.
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  That in itself is just monumental.
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  So I'm like, well, what makes us
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  different? Like what's
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  going to make us different?
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  So in our planning phases, I was able to
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  come up with something new that the
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  city's never done. And we're always so
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  lucky to have the support that we do
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  that, you know, that supports our crazy
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  ideas. But what makes it epic outside of
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  everyone coming down is this year for the
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  first time ever, we are shooting the
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  fireworks from two barges. Wow. So that's
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  big in a big way. But we are coupling it
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  with a laser show. So lasers on top of
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  the fireworks. Right. So everybody keeps,
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  you know, always talking about drones.
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  Why don't you do a
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  drone show? And, you know,
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  we did our research and I've watched a
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  lot of drone shows and what people don't
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  realize is our firework reach is huge.
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  Palm Beach supports our event. And, you
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  know, our viewing area just downtown goes
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  from Lakeview to Banyan where people are
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  along the seawall and drone shows are
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  very forward facing.
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  So if you're on the back
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  side of a drone show, you are
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  like, what is happening there?
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  Does it make sense? You got to be looking
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  at it from a certain angle.
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  So like we talked through all that and
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  it's, you know, I
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  talked to a couple different
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  drone shows and they really couldn't make
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  it do anything
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  different. So I started talking
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  with a laser company and the lasers are
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  going to be shot from
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  four different locations.
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  So they will go towards Palm Beach. They
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  will go to each bridge
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  and they will come towards
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  our waterfront. So while the fireworks
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  are shooting off one
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  bar, then the next one bar
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  then the next, the fireworks are going
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  off in the air and the
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  lasers, they hit about
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  20 feet over your head and they will just
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  fan out in a circumference that will just
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  be breathtaking. So, you know, that's
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  epic in itself because
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  we've never done it before
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  and we're excited about it. And when
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  we're excited about it,
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  we talk more about it and
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  we just do more things. But on top of
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  that, like we're like,
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  what else? What else can
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  we do? So our patriotic ceremony is going
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  to be special in the
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  aspect that we searched
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  high and low for something that would
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  reach backwards, but
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  still move us forward. And
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  we got the swing dolls. So back in the
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  day when morale was down
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  for US troops, like the
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  USO would bring in these amazing women
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  that would dance and sing
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  and we're doing the same.
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  So it's modeled after that and they're
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  going to kind of kick
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  things off around eight o'clock
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  and they're going to do a half an hour of
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  that, which is going to
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  lead us into our ceremony
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  that night. And we're really going to
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  talk about our roots
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  and, you know, where we came
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  from. There could be, you know, maybe
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  Betsy, Betsy Ross
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  involved and potentially Uncle
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  Sam and, you know, George Washington
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  might make a small
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  appearance, but we're going to
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  talk about our flags, where they came
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  from, when they came,
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  like just we're going to give
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  you some history about our country.
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  That's really cool that
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  you're going to be bringing
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  some history in and teaching folks what
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  it's all about, why it's
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  so special. It's not just
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  just another day to have apple pie and
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  watch fireworks. It's
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  something really important
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  for us. And on top of that, you're also
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  paying tribute to, I
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  think something that has not
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  been really focused on is the use of the
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  USO of entertaining
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  those folks who are serving
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  us in foreign countries during times of
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  war. They played an
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  important part that, you know,
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  it's great to see a nod given to that
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  particular group. Now
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  you've mentioned, you know, I'm
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  going to go back and talk a little bit
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  more about the
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  fireworks, because they'll sound
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  awesome. But what I'm really interested
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  in is that you're
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  describing multiple venues
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  happening. Do you have just one stage?
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  How many stages do we have?
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  Oh, Jerry, we don't do just one stage. We
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  have three stages of
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  entertainment, which is
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  what's kind of fun, because there really
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  is something for
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  everyone. So the New Day USA
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  stage is where you can see the swing
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  dolls got a groove and,
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  you know, the ceremony we
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  were talking about. And that's all taking
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  place right in the
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  Great Lawn. But then if
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  you move down the road a little bit and
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  you go to the Meijer,
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  the supervisor of election
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  stage has a DJ that entertains the kids
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  area. And for us,
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  that's so spectacular because
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  the kids get to play all day. It's really
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  amazing to watch the
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  parents just, they find
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  a spot, they sit down and their kids can
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  play. Or the parents are
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  playing with the kids and
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  there's games, there's bounce houses,
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  there's face painters.
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  And it's just really neat.
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  You're describing how there are things
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  happening over a long
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  stretch of time, which brings
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  me to an important question because
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  people go, "Oh, okay,
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  well, it's an hour before the
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  fireworks. Let's go downtown." No, that's
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  not what we're talking about.
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  Come on down and stay.
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  Yeah, there's all sorts of stuff going
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  on. As sort of a guide
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  to someone who hasn't been
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  there before, what's really a good time
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  to show up and start
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  really enjoying the things
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  that are going on?
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  So the event kicks off at five. You know,
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  down in Post Park, we
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  have the Informa stage,
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  which is our country kickback. So when I
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  say there's really
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  something for everyone,
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  we teach line dance lessons. There's a
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  mechanical bowl. So it is
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  nonstop entertainment down
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  there. And we even give you a tent to
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  dance under so you're not so warm.
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  But we've got so much going on that get
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  there at five, enjoy it.
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  Is there food?
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  Oh, yes. A ton of food.
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  Lots of beverages. We even have a sponsor
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  coming in this year
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  that's doing a chill station.
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  So we know that it's warm. And so we're
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  giving people places to
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  reprieve with air, water,
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  and cooling devices, which is really kind
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  of a unique thing. But
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  the breeze that comes
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  off the intercoastal is
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  pretty spectacular too.
• 14:15:08
  Yeah. I mean, the potential for it being
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  a hot day is
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  obviously there, but with just
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  a little bit of a breeze, it's in that
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  water. It makes for a
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  wonderful afternoon, early
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  evening.
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  Absolutely. And the view.
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  Yeah. Yeah. The view. And what you've
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  described about the twin
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  barges doing the fireworks
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  on top of lasers, like cutting through
• 14:15:30
  the fireworks smoke and
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  doing amazing. I can't
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  wait to see that.
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  Me either. I'm so excited about it.
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  That's fun.
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  Yeah. When we get to be excited about it,
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  it just, I think, makes things better.
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  Now, there's also going to be
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  a 5K in the middle of all this.
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  Yeah. Why don't we sprinkle a little bit
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  more in? But Bill Bone
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  has been a part of this
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  for several years now. And he does the
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  Bill Bone 5K. That kicks
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  off at, well, they start
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  running at seven o'clock and that goes to
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  help wounded warriors.
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  So it really is a full
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  circle event in the aspect of we
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  celebrate our past, our
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  present, and our future. And
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  we're honoring charities. We've got
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  amazing sponsors this
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  year. The fireworks and the
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  fireworks and laser show is brought to us
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  by Florida Crystals and that's their own
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  backyard for them. So that's huge. And
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  they're so excited to be a
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  part of it this year. But
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  it really is a great event to be. And
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  it's, you know, if
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  you're looking for something
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  to do and you're not quite sure, we try
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  to make it as easy as
• 14:16:39
  possible for you. There's
• 14:16:41
  plenty of places to park. It's listed on
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  our website. So if
• 14:16:45
  people aren't sure. And
• 14:16:47
  we also bring the music back after the
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  fireworks. So if you're not
• 14:16:50
  wanting to hurry up and rush
• 14:16:51
  out, just to give yourself a little bit
• 14:16:53
  more time. Let the
• 14:16:55
  crowd spread out. We do put
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  music back on on two stages. So, you
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  know, it gives you a
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  little buffer for another half
• 14:17:01
  an hour before the event ends. You have
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  designed something that
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  really is a viewer event. You
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  have taken care of. The possibility for
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  just a wonderful,
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  wonderful time is top flight.
• 14:17:16
  You've got food. You've got cooling
• 14:17:19
  stations. You've really
• 14:17:20
  thought of everything to make
• 14:17:21
  it a really great event for residents. We
• 14:17:24
  try. You know, our
• 14:17:26
  team works hard. We have
• 14:17:27
  a committee that focuses on this. And
• 14:17:30
  like I said, it truly is
• 14:17:32
  a team planning effort.
• 14:17:35
  So we're very lucky to
• 14:17:37
  have the support that we have.
• 14:17:39
  So while people are planning out their
• 14:17:40
  4th of July, deciding
• 14:17:42
  whether they're going to
• 14:17:42
  have hot dogs or hamburgers or bowls or
• 14:17:47
  whatever their heart
• 14:17:48
  desires at that particular moment,
• 14:17:50
  they should be planning on making an
• 14:17:52
  effort to come on down to
• 14:17:53
  check out 4th on Flagler.
• 14:17:55
  It is truly going to be epic this year.
• 14:17:57
  It is going to be epic. And I look at it
• 14:18:00
  this way. Leave the
• 14:18:01
  planning to us. Is everything
• 14:18:02
  else at home? Don't, you know, and I
• 14:18:04
  always say, definitely
• 14:18:05
  leave the fireworks to us.
• 14:18:07
  Come on down. You don't have to worry
• 14:18:08
  about a cooler. No
• 14:18:10
  backpacks. Just come on down.
• 14:18:12
  Enjoy the view and have some fun.
• 14:18:15
  And one of the things that we want to
• 14:18:16
  make sure people are
• 14:18:17
  aware of is to find out more
• 14:18:19
  information. You can go to the city
• 14:18:21
  website at wpb.org front
• 14:18:24
  slash 4th. 4th. So go on down and
• 14:18:30
  check it. You guys are amazing. You guys
• 14:18:31
  put on a show like no other
• 14:18:33
  every year and it just gets
• 14:18:35
  bigger and bigger every year. Kudos to
• 14:18:37
  your team. And we can't
• 14:18:38
  wait to get down there.
• 14:18:39
  I cannot wait either. Thank you, Jerry.
• 14:18:43
  And thank you for joining us for Inside
• 14:18:44
  West Palm Beach. We've got
• 14:18:46
  new content every two weeks.
• 14:18:48
  So like and subscribe so you don't miss a
• 14:18:50
  minute of what's going on
• 14:18:52
  in the city of West Palm.
• 14:18:53
  The show is a production of the city of
• 14:18:55
  West Palm Beach
• 14:18:55
  Communications Department.
• 14:18:57
  I'm Jerry Marceolo.
• 14:18:59
  We'll see you next time.