Officials with Pops on the River have announced that they are moving ahead with plans to hold the event on Saturday, July 4, at Coolidge Park, and that it will be an event-time decision as to whether rain will cause its cancellation.
Pops on the River is Chattanooga’s largest Independence Day celebration, and features a free outdoor patriotic concert by the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera(CSO) at Coolidge Park as well as a large fireworks finale over the Tennessee River.
It is made possible through the support of the city of Chattanooga, ArtsBuild and sponsorship support from Integrity Buick GMC Cadillac and Integrity Chevrolet. It is produced by Chattanooga Presents.
According to Carla Pritchard, owner of Chattanooga Presents, “Because we cannot schedule a rain date, we want to take this down to the wire on Saturday. The symphony members and other musicians will be there and will be prepared to perform, as long as it is not raining at the actual time of the show. We don’t want to cancel things if there is any chance that they might still be able to occur.”
Organizers say that all social media outlets will be kept up to date, as well as information on the websites chattanoogapops.com as well as chattanoogapresents.com. to provide the latest information available.
As announced earlier, this year’s plans are to start the entertainment earlier than usual with a special tribute to veterans, featuring veteran songwriters from Operation Song and two other Nashville bands beginning at 5 p.m. Taking the stage at 5:00 will be the all-veteran hard rock band from Nashville called Ironglide. Following their set at 5:40, a few veteran songwriters participating in the pilot music therapy program called Operation Song will take the stage along with Grammy-winning songwriter Bob Regan.Then from 6-6:40 Chattanooga-based Mitch Rossell and his band will perform a country music set in honor of veterans. The veterans’ portion of the Pops on the River schedule is sponsored by SunTrust Bank. For more information about the innovative therapeutic mission of Operation Song for veterans and its pilot program in Chattanooga visit operationsong.org.
Weather allowing, at 8 p.m. the CSO will begin the patriotic program featuring Sousa Marches, the “Armed Forces Salute,” and “Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture,” as well as “Raiders March” from Raiders of the Lost Ark. The symphony will be directed by guest conductor Jacob Harrison, and the guest soloist will be local baritone, Brett Hyberger.
The fireworks display, shot from the neighboring Renaissance Park, is planned to begin immediately upon the conclusion of the symphony’s performance at 9:45, although this time may vary, depending on weather.
A variety of food, beer and non-alcoholic drink concessions will be available on site. The public is invited to bring lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy a picnic during the Pops on the River program.
Coolidge Park will be closing to vehicular traffic at 4:30 p.m. on the day of the show. There will be free shuttle service running from the Republic parking lots (previously owned by UNUM) between 4th and 5th Streets from 6-11 p.m. The lots are pay-to-park lots. Shuttle pickup and drop off on the north side of the river will be near the Chattanooga Theatre Centre at the intersection of Tremont and River streets.