A large crowd gathers in Victorian Square Sunday to enjoy the country western music of the Justin Lee Band out of Yerington. The concert was part of the 17th annual Star Spangled Sparks event that featured a variety of activities throughout the day, capped off by a spectacular fireworks show off of the Nugget Casino Resort.
The streets of Sparks were fairly quiet Sunday morning, except for patriotically decorated kids and bikes roaming around Victorian Square.
“We have three kids in the [patriotic] parade,” said Danuta Manabat, mother of some of the children. “My kindergarten-er got a flyer in the school about a month ago and got excited about it, so we started planning it.’’
Promoting the biggest fireworks show in all of Northern Nevada for the 3rd of July, all sorts of vendors and music lined Victorian Square where they shot off the 17th annual fireworks show from the roof of the hotel.
To coincide with the Star Spangled theme, a pro wake boarding contest was being held at the Sparks Marina. The event’s pro riders/organizers were thrilled to be hosted at the Nugget at this time of the year.
“The [Sparks Pro] closes out with the fireworks event; it’s pretty cool,” World Wakeboard Association CEO Shannon Starling said. “The support from the City has been wonderful.”
In Victorian Square, people staredt filtering in during the day for the live entertainment, cruising the vendor booths and claiming their seats for the fireworks show.
“I heard about this event from KOLO 8 and so we decided to get a room at the Nugget for the night. We’ve been checking out the vendors; there’s a good selection of stuff,” Reno resident Carol Rodgers said, as her daughter was off riding the rides and getting her face painted.
“I’m really glad that Sparks has different events. We’ve been to the rib cook-off and it’s nice to see how the community comes together. It’s safe and there are lots of good vendors. Plus, Sunday is perfect to host the fireworks because we can recover tomorrow.”
Down on the vendor aisles, businesses were selling everything from beer taps to DIY-painted Frisbees. Lisa Dobson from the Fudgealicious booth says that this is her first event in Sparks, but she plans on coming back for Hot August Nights and the Rib Cook-off.
Her biggest selling item is a fook-adoodle which is a combination of white chocolate fudge, cinnamon, caramel, and a snickerdoodle.
“This is a cute little square and the people are nice. I’m excited to actually watch the fireworks tonight,” she said.
Jennifer Mello at the Killer Salsa booth says that Star Spangled Sparks had a pretty good turnout.
“People love our salsa; the most popular version is our smoked chipotle, but people also like the original and the garlic,” she said. “So far it’s been a really nice venue, the [live] music’s good, and I’m excited to watch the fireworks.”
Victor Garcia at The Most Comfortable Pillow booth said that his dad worked the booth in Sparks last year, but this is his first time. “My dad said that [Sparks] has the best fireworks display. This is a good location, everyone’s pretty friendly. I like the whole strip.”
Reuben Rodriguez said that his friend’s cousin raves about the Sparks fireworks show every year, so his family got a room at the Nugget this year. From Redding, this is his first time in Sparks for the fourth of July. His wife and daughter likde the fountain in front of the movie theater to be able to cool off in.
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