NEWBERRY — Get ready to see fire in the sky on the Fourth of July, when the Newberry County Law Enforcement Association holds its annual free fireworks show at Newberry High School.

The fireworks show will begin at dark, around 9 p.m. or 9:30 p.m. Prior to the fireworks show, activities for both children and adults will be at Newberry High School. There will be inflatables for youths and a DJ, Nick Brown will be playing music.

“This year we have a special treat, the 208nd Army Band will be performing. They will under the direction of Chief Warrant Officer Timothy Lyden, who is the principal of Prosperity-Rikard Elementary School,” Sheriff Lee Foster said. “We are able to book them periodically. They play patriotic music, marches, some pop music and they will play throughout the evening.”

According to their website, www.music.army.mi, the primary mission of the band is to promote the esprit de corps of fighting forces, and to serve as a goodwill ambassador throughout North Carolina and South Carolina.

“This is the third time we have done the fireworks show, we always enjoy the show. It is a great display,” Lyden said. “Newberry is like a second home to us. We have performed at the Newberry Opera House several times and the band is well received in the community.”

Food will be readily available for purchase. According to Foster, a food vendor will be selling carnival food like funnel cakes, cotton candy and lemonade. A local Boy Scout troop will be selling baked goods and other things.

Guests will be encouraged to go inside the stadium when the fireworks begin so they can enjoy the show, which will be choreographed to music. East Coast Pyrotechnics based in Catawba is handling the fireworks.

“We have used the same company for years. We signed a long term contract with them that guaranteed a professional show on Fourth of July and locked us into a price that would not rise,” Foster said.

The fireworks will be shot from the girl’s softball field.

“This company is a professional outfit. They are licensed to handle fireworks. We will also have the fire department and EMS standing by, just in case,” Foster said. “We will also have a safety zone. It will keep people back and make sure they do not get in fall out zones.”

This year marks the 25th year of the firework show. When they began the show in 1990 it took place at Newberry College.

“A lot of people in the county did not have the ability to go to the lake or go to a swimming pool, so we wanted to give them the opportunity to do something traditional on the Fourth of July,” Foster said.

“We had a great partnership with the college, but we understandably had to move locations. NHS graciously allowed us to use their football stadium and we have been there for about 10 years,” Foster said.

NHS also has the added benefit of more on-site parking.

“This event really reaches about a thousand people. Not only do they come to the high school, but they also fill up the Lowe’s and Wal-Mart parking lots and people drive off the interstate once they see the fireworks,” he said. “You can even see some of the fireworks from Piedmont Tech and on 219. Some people will park at both to watch.”

The gates will open at 6 p.m. Foster suggests arriving at least 45 minutes prior to get a good spot in the stands, and an hour before to park at NHS.

If the weather does not permit fireworks, Foster will announce a make up day, which will most likely be the following day.

“In all of the years of doing this, we only had one time we had to shoot on an alternative day,” he said.