Red, white and boom

Crystal River's Family Freedom Festival gears up with picnics, concerts and boat tours in the day, to the rocket's red glare of fireworks at night.

By JORGE SANCHEZ

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 29, 2001

Crystal River's Family Freedom Festival 2001 starts out with a day of fun at Hunter Springs Park and is capped off with the county's largest fireworks display on Independence Day.

Beginning at 1 p.m., local musicians will perform at Hunter Springs Park, off S Citrus Avenue. The park has a public spring-fed swimming area, picnic tables, restrooms and a volleyball court.

Scheduled performers are Two Thorns and A Rose, Jim & Sheila Harpin and Jesse Watson, Jimmy Brown, Dave Robertson, Wally Strawder, Martha June, Melainie Lettow, The Limbough Family and Bret Edwards.

Another way to pass the time before the fireworks will be to take a guided boat tour of Kings Bay. There are still manatees in the bay, and it also contains lots of fish, turtles and birds.

Crystal River Manatee Dive and Tour, 267 NW Third St., Crystal River, will operate tour boats for a 45-minute trip. Cost is $5. The dive shop also rents kayaks and canoes for those who want to paddle. Be aware that boat traffic on the bay on Independence Day will be heavy.

People can board the tour boats at the dive show. The $5 fee will be donated to the city's fireworks fund.

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