Fireworks 💥 History Part 2!

Photo Credit: Chris Giersch

From our Fireworks master Jill Doczi comes the second installment of how the Independence Day Fireworks funded by individual contributions came about:

“July 2011: Our first authorized show in 2010, organized by our Ocean Park Civic League president, Rick Mercadante, was a huge hit. In his words,“We started the summer by celebrating our nation’s birth with a fantastic fireworks display that exceeded all expectations. I was proud of the way our neighborhood came together in a grassroots effort to make this happen. What a great country to live in, and even better,what a great neighborhood we live in.“

Rick’s accomplishment set the ball in motion for our new, safer tradition, and it did indeed accomplish the goal of curbing the night-long illegal fireworks along our beach. However, at the end of his commitment to our country, he received his final call — to Djibouti. Before he left, Rick asked me to take on his project. If someone didn’t keep it rolling, we wouldn’t have a fireworks celebration of our country’s independence anymore on our beach.

As a child, fireworks seemed magical to me. The anticipation of the explosions followed by the surprise of colorful displays were a once-a-year treat in Roanoke if we were lucky enough to have someone drive us downtown, find parking, squeeze into bleachers with thousands of others and watch our city display over a football field. At the time Rick asked me, I had small children who had only ever known the un-hassled Independence Day tradition of walking down to the beach with family and friends to watch fireworks with reflections on the water and the sound of waves as the backdrop to our “Ooooos” and “Ahhhhhs.” I wanted them to grow up with those memories. I agreed with hesitation. Little did we know, this would be a learning year.”

Donate: www.opcl.org

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⚓️ LBR Report : June 19-22

Mike Parkman from Parks and Rec gives details here

 Parks and Recreation staff share weekly updates regarding weekend activity at the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp (LBR):

Friday, June 19 –        40 total launches, car parking did not fill. The overflow lot was not used. We did not have to close using the barricades at any time. Even though the Sail 250 parade of sails was this day, the weather was rainy in the morning with some winds.

Saturday, June 20 –     173 total launches, car parking did fill up around 10am and was full most of day. The overflow lot was used for approximately 29 vehicles with trailers. We continue to be limited on parking in overflow due to soft sand. We did close the facility to trucks and trailers around 9:00am using the barricades. VBPD was notified around 9:15am that the ramp was closed to trucks and trailers. All signage was changed at that time to indicate we were full.  

Sunday, June 21 –       188 total launches, car parking did fill up around 10:00am and there was limited available parking throughout the day. The overflow lot was used for approximately 33 vehicles with trailers We did have to close the facility and barricade operations were implemented around 9:50am. VBPD was notified that the ramp was closed to trucks and trailers. All signage was changed at that time to indicate we were full.  We did have a couple officers come through the facility and the neighborhood.

Incidents to report:

On Sunday around 3:45pm, EMS and Fire responded to a 911 call from a boater coming into the ramp from the water with injuries and was taken to the hospital.

Notes:

The VBPD summer beach patrols have started and officers on ATV are also riding through our facility and talking to staff regarding any issues.

We have started a Text Alert for when the boat ramp is full. As of today, 159 people have opted in to receive the alerts. When the boat ramp is full staff will send a message to the ECCS watch desk and they will send an alert text notifying those people that the ramp is full at that time. A follow-up text will then be sent when we re-open. Please see attached flyer.

Parking Enforcement:

Total Citation Count: 55

Total Read Count:      497    (this is the number of vehicles scanned during enforcement visits)

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How Can I Find Out if the LBR is Open or Full? Text Alert now Available!

Are you wondering if you will be able to launch at the LBR? Now you can send a quick text and find out if it is full or open! Text boatramp to 67283 and you can get that information!

Mike Parkman from CoVB Parks and Rec explains: ” Residents we have heard you. I was here a few weeks ago discussing our new digital signs on Shore Drive that alert people when the boat ramp is full. We had a lot of comments and we have heard you and starting today if you text boat ramp to 67283 you will be subscribing to a new text alert system that when our boat ramp is full we’ll be able to send that text out to everybody. It will say the boat ramp is closed as of ? pm and will reopen at ? pm. One thing to keep in mind is that it won’t be a one for one. We’re going to do a block of time so there may be 10 spots so we can get people off the road quicker.

We have a lot of issues with people when we are closed trying to maneuver their boats and trailers through the neighborhood. We hope this system will help people understand sooner and not turn off Shore Drive because once you turn off Shore Drive into the small narrow neighborhood roads it poses a safety issue for people driving the vehicles and for the residents in the neighborhood.” Know before you go! video here.

When the LBR lot is full: it is closed and not available for drop off
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The Story Behind the Ocean Park Fireworks: Part 1!

Any amount is welcome!

Please donate! Jill Doczi tells the story of how our fireworks show came about:

In the past, neighbors celebrated the day of our nation’s independence starting at sundown and continuing into the early morning hours with their own fireworks on the beaches. From Little Creek Amphibious Base to First Landing State Park, we had a stunning array of light and sound from everything between small sparklers and thousands-of-dollars mini-shows, all illegal, but impressive as a whole for a community.

Over the years, the word spread, and people from outside the community flocked to participate. Sometimes those people showed up a little under-the-influence, excited to share their self-taught pyrotechnic skills. Sometimes they didn’t care as much about the safety of neighbors and sometimes they didn’t have the skills they thought they did — resulting errant shots into dry dune grass, onto roofs and into crowds. Hundreds of fireworks shooting in all directions up and down the beach did start to resemble a war movie.

In 2009, we experienced the Great Fireworks Crackdown. Due to some serious safety issues from the previous year, the city launched a very militant effort to stop the illegal use of fireworks on the Fourth of July along the Shore Drive beaches. In addition to increased beach patrols, they staged police and fire marshal staff at every access entrance. They checked coolers, bags and buggies for explosives and meted out severe penalties. It worked. Fireworks celebrations of Independence Day appeared to have ended on our beaches.

The community realized that maybe it had gotten out-of-hand and unsafe, but we weren’t willing to give up the tradition. How could we celebrate our country in the same patriotic way that centuries of Americans before us have, while not setting each other and our neighborhoods on fire?

In 2010, our then civic league president, Rick Mercadante, proposed we raise funds for a professional show. The city agreed. Word-of-mouth and a loan from the civic league launched our first authorized fireworks show in July 2010.

Donate: www.opcl.org

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🌱 Pleasure 🦅 House 🐢 Point 🦪 Clean 🚮 Up- Thank you for the Help!

“Just a reminder that cleanups help our neighborhood and it takes people who are truly passionate about this precious asset, Pleasure House Point Natural Area, to do that!

Mary Faust reports: “What a lovely day for the cleanup! Little Silas here with his parents, Daniel and Madison, helped out as did the following folks, some of whom attended for the first time and others were just visiting but elected to grab a bag on their walk. Many thanks to: Ashley Milburn, Geoff Everts, Kathy Spencer Mary Vail, TO and Debbie Cohen. Andrea and Tim Lindemann, Camden Rosado, Robert Mititelu, The Bay Benefactors: Danny Murphy, J.D. Murphy and Jason Smith !!”

Kudos to our “special marine division”, Tim Lindemann and Mark Faust!

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⚓️ LBR: June 12-14

This was an extremely busy weekend with a total of 460 launches. 

Friday, June 12 – 175 total launches, car parking did not fill but was sporadic availability throughout the afternoon. The overflow lot was used for 4-5 vehicles. We did not have to close using the barricades at any time. 

Saturday, June 13 – 139 total launches, car parking did fill up around 10am and was full most of day. The overflow lot was used for approximately 25 vehicles with trailers. We did close the facility to trucks and trailers around 10:55am using the barricades. VBPD was notified that the ramp was closed to trucks and trailers. Several vehicles with trailers were asked not to park on the road and wait for entry into ramp. Most were not compliant and were very rude to staff. Police assisted staff with these people and pushed these boaters out of the neighborhood. 

Sunday, June 14 – 146 total launches, car parking did fill up around 12:45 pm and there was limited available parking throughout the day. The overflow lot was used for approximately 25 vehicles with trailers We did not have to close the facility and barricade operations were not implemented. 

Incidents to report: 

On Friday approximately 8:20 pm, public safety arrived onsite for a report of a possible drowning in our area and heavy storms also came through around 8:45pm. 

On Saturday, approximately 11:40 am, person in a vehicle with trailer, drove up to the barricades attempting to bypass staff to enter the Boat Ramp. Staff informed the man that the ramp was closed so he muttered some expletives and drove thru the neighborhood. He came back and parked in front of the barricade and refused to move. Staff informed him that he was blocking traffic and that he needed to move, the man refused and police were called. When informed about the police being called, he then drove off, called staff a name and then threatened staff. Police responded and found the boater causing the issue and gave them a warning. 

On Sunday, we had a boat break down on ramp #1 and had to close that ramp for launching and recovering for approximately 15-20 minutes. 

Parking Enforcement: Friday, June 12 to Monday, June 14, 2026 

Total Citation Count: 58 

Total Read Count: 469 (this is the number of vehicles scanned during enforcement visits) 

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