Nathan Benderson Park expands July 3 fireworks show

Bruce Patneaude's "big relief" is going to come three minutes later on July 3.

Patneaude, the chief operating officer of Nathan Benderson Park, said the annual Fireworks on the Lake could be the most stressful event for the park staff to present each year.

"It is a huge task that we take on to give back to the community," Patneaude said. "We don't make any money on it. And at 9:30, when the fireworks are over, it's a couple of hours of clean-up, and then it's a big relief."

He will have to wait three extra minutes for that relief this year because the fireworks show has been stretched from 15 minutes to 18 minutes.

So why go even longer with the fireworks, and spend thousands more dollars?

Because the public obviously loves it.

Nathan Benderson Park Marketing Director Marnie Buchsbaum said the park staff estimated that approximately 17,000 people attended the event in 2024, and that doesn't count all the people who pull up on a side street, find a restaurant where the fireworks can be seen, or find a place in the Mall at University Town Center parking lot.

Patneaude said one way to gauge the event's popularity is to consider that in his three years as COO, the event has gone from eight Sarasota County Sheriff's Office deputies to monitor traffic to 12. The streets in the vicinity of the park are packed.

"They are off Richardson, Cattlemen, Honore ... they are everywhere," Patneaude said.

The event began in 2017, and this is the eighth year. Twinkle and Rock Soul Radio will be the featured music group. Twinkle was the headliner in 2024, but her performance was interrupted by heavy rains that eventually subsided.

'We felt bad for Twinkle," Buchsbaum said. "It rained on them. But the show goes on here."

Buchsbaum said they decided to invite her back again with the hope it stays dry. 

The fireworks show costs $32,000 for those 18 minutes, Patneaude said that the parking costs cover some of the funds needed for the event, but he thanked the event sponsors, such as main sponsor Lamborghini Sarasota, for making the show possible. Mote Marine is sponsoring the Kids Zone at the event.

There will be another addition to the program this year.

"Every year we are challenged on how to make the show bigger and better," Buchsbaum said. "This year we will have dragon boat races and community demos from 5:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. People can come out with the kids and climb in a dragon boat."

VIP tickets, which include entry into the air conditioned finish tower, are sold out for the event.

"Based on the size of the tower, we are limited," Buchsbaum said. "But we are thinking about how to expand, maybe setting up tents."

Parking passes are still available for the event by going to NathanBendersonPark.org.