URBANDALE, Iowa — Urbandale has been preparing for its annual Fourth of July festivities for months, and now the holiday is just a day away.
The city hosts what they call the largest Fourth of July celebration in the Des Moines metro area, complete with a big carnival, live music, a two-mile-long community parade and of course a magnificent firework show to cap it all off.
"This is obviously not our first rodeo," said Ofc. Holly Pickett with the Urbandale Police Department. "The Fourth of July celebration here in Urbandale is kind of our big show."
At 10 p.m. Tuesday, 40 minutes of fireworks will be launched into the sky from Walker Johnston Park. While local police want to community to enjoy the wide array of festivities, Pickett says that all law enforcement hands will be on deck to ensure safety.
"There will be officers that are monitoring traffic in the areas around the fireworks," she said. "And then of course, there's still officers that are working the street and taking calls for service ensuring that citizens are staying safe while all the celebrating is happening."
The city has deemed the use of consumer fireworks as a threat to public safety, so instead of setting off your own, police encourage you to come out and enjoy the public firework display put on by the professionals.
"Come to the firework show instead," Pickett said. "Let us light off those big fireworks for you, and enjoy them for free, on us."
For a detailed schedule of the day's events, visit the city's official event website.