By Amy Iori
Semiquincentennial. That’s the grammatical term for a 250th anniversary, and it’s a term we’re all becoming more familiar with as we prepare to celebrate two and a half centuries since the United States signed the Declaration of Independence. For my fellow word nerds, the word’s Latin roots actually represent “half of a 500-year quincentennial”: semi (meaning half), quin (for five), and centennial (for 100 years).
Whether you can pronounce the word or not, this year’s Independence Day is a big deal and well worth celebrating…right here in Apex!
Apex’s Olde Fashioned Fourth of July is one of the longest-running events in town, but with the Salem Streetscape project in progress, you might be wondering what our holiday celebration will look like this year. I sat down with Communications Manager Kerrin Cox, Special Events Manager Lisa Raschke, and Special Events Supervisor Megan Shea to bring you all the details.
The first thing you need to know is that, in 2026, Apex will celebrate Independence Day on July 3. Why? To be able to offer you more fun! With every local municipality honoring the occasion on the same day, and pretty much in the same way – with fireworks, food trucks, and other festival amenities – there are only so many resources to go around. By celebrating on July 3, event organizers have more options. (And you can celebrate twice.)
The second important piece of information is about location. Like many of this year’s festivals, our Independence Day festivities are held at Hunter Street Park and along Hunter Street. But fear not, the delightful activities that are the essence of Apex’s Olde Fashioned Fourth of July are happening, with more thought and deeper meaning.
Parade of Wheels
Since 1996, the Parade of Wheels, a primary event piece of the Olde Fashioned Fourth of July, has been near and dear to the hearts of Apex residents. Other activities have changed over the years, but the parade has remained. Raschke credits its popularity to the fact that it’s a demonstration of the heart of Apex, something that brings our community together.
“In years past we’ve had bike decorating stations, different characters—like the man on stilts and Uncle Sam leading the parade. Sometimes we have Lady Liberty. But it’s the community getting together. All ages, from strollers to families riding together, wheelchairs, everything. It’s a very short distance, and it goes by really quick, but it’s the moment everyone waits for. Ten minutes beforehand, the streets are bustling. Then all of a sudden, everyone clears the streets and the parade begins. They get to the fire truck, and it’s so hot out, so it’s nice to have that spray from the Splash Down.”
“This year,” Cox said, “the parade is kicking off the Fireworks Frenzy event festivities. We’re excited to continue creating all of that beautiful magic, with this year reimagining it just a bit.”
The parade will begin at 4:30 p.m., proceed down Hunter Street, turn right onto Mason Street, and meet the fire truck for Splash Down and all the fun. As the parade passes each vendor, booths will open, so, in effect, the kids are the ones opening the event.
Shea added, “The inflatables will all be down and as the parade goes through, they will all come up so that after the Splash Down, the kids can walk back in and go have fun.”
The Parade of Wheels typically draws between 250 and 300 participants with decorated bikes, trikes, wagons, strollers, wheelchairs, etc. Raschke pointed out that while many events have a kids’ zone or other side activity to keep kids busy, the Parade of Wheels is an event component that is kid-focused and just for them. And to the best of our knowledge, Apex is the only town around where a parade of this sort is a staple for the July Fourth holiday.
Drone Show
Apex’s 2025 Independence Day festivities featured a drone show for the first time, and based on its popularity and other factors, it’s here to stay. Raschke takes us behind the scenes and explains how it works.
“Last year we had 150 drones; this year we’ll have 250 for the 250th anniversary of America. The more drones you have, the better the show, because the more details you can get. The drones take off all together, and through commands create magnificent images in the sky. We are very excited for this year’s show, which will feature classic July 4th imagery as well as custom themed Apex images.
This year, we’re using a company called Full Spectrum out of Stone Mountain, Georgia. There will be music, and they do a custom show for Apex. I don’t want to give too much away, because we want people to come and see it, but this year [will feature] some beloved landmarks and other surprises.”
The drone show is expected to last 12 to 14 minutes. Music is provided by a deejay who has the playlist for the show and sound is projected through speakers so everyone in attendance can hear. It’s interesting to note that drone shows are becoming the future of Independence Day and other celebrations, due to their customizability, sensory-sensitivity, and environmentally friendly nature. In fact, our neighbors in Chapel Hill announced plans to hold a drone show instead of a traditional fireworks display this year.
As Raschke pointed out, “Fireworks shows are magnificent, but they’re all very similar. You’re not getting a moment to celebrate who you are as a community. I think a drone show really helps celebrate that more.”
Additionally, Shea explained the appeal of the drone show as a sensory-sensitive alternative to fireworks:
“One of our strategic goals is to be a welcoming community. Fireworks can be an issue for anyone with sensory issues or young children, but we want everyone to enjoy the festival. Last year, we had a sensory viewing area on Town Hall Campus at the Apex Senior Center, where they could still see the fireworks but be away from it. We included this drone show so everyone could be in the action.
We did a 10-minute break between the drones and the fireworks, so anyone that needed to leave could leave. We turned the lights on and made an announcement, and that gave people time to either get away from the crowds and go home, or go to our sensory area, which was further away from the fireworks, so it wasn’t as loud. And there we had rock painting and chalk activities.”
Raschke added that there were three different sensory-friendly spaces. “You could go to one area and be completely quiet. You could go to another and have an activity. And we also had a lawn viewing area. That way, a family could sit outside and view, while people were inside where the noise wasn’t as loud.”
This year, the sensory-friendly areas will be in the Senior Center.
“What’s really nice about this,” Raschke shared, “is we have people coming from [all over] because of the sensory-friendly element of it. Sometimes people can’t really enjoy the activities because fireworks are going off everywhere all the time.” Shea agreed. “Last year, I talked to a dad who came with his daughter just for the drone show from eastern NC. His daughter came with her headphones, and they had never been before. He was so excited to be here, and they left after the drone show, but she still got to experience an exciting Fourth of July event.”
Fireworks Frenzy
Apex started doing a town fireworks display in 2022. I learned that there’s much more than meets the eye when it comes to setting up something like this. For instance, did you know that there are now two types of fireworks shows — those with fuses to be lit by hand, and those ignited electronically? Depending on the size of the display, the types of fireworks, and other factors, some might be lit by hand while the big finale might be done electronically.
In Apex, the size of our fireworks is limited by the space available for a safe fallout zone. But our town organizers have been working diligently with Pyro Shows Vice President of Operations Jesse Salveson to create a dazzling 20-minute show that will consist of 2,064 shells. Pyro Shows has 55 years of experience implementing professional fireworks displays, so I have no doubt ours will be spectacular.
Raschke described what it takes to make the Fireworks Frenzy shine in Apex.
“Safety is at the forefront of everything we do. Fireworks are inspected onsite by the Wake County Fire Marshal and Town staff is onsite throughout the entire event to ensure everyone’s safety. One interesting fact about fireworks is that once they are loaded into their devices, they must be fired within a certain timeframe. So, timing is a huge piece of planning how the event works. Depending on weather, we may need to adjust the timing of both of our shows — drone and fireworks — in order to shoot the fireworks off.
We want this experience to be the best for our community so we make sure it’s dark out, but we give ourselves a lot of flexibility. For instance, we might start at 8:45 p.m. because we see a weather system could be coming in at 10:00 p.m.”
Cox added, “This is one point where we have to have flexibility, to ask our community to have flexibility, because we are dependent on the weather, and it could be a very last-minute adjustment to timing. It’s an important thing to keep in mind—get here early but then be patient as we make sure that the weather is good to get to do everything safely.”
Safety Measures
Safety is a top priority. While the drone show and the fireworks display require their own individual coordination, each must follow specific FAA regulations regarding the other. For instance, drones cannot fly over people. And fireworks cannot be left unattended once they’re in the tubes. Fortunately, the two companies that Apex uses know each other well and they coordinate for optimal implementation and maximum safety.
Raschke provided more detail, explaining, “As the drones are flying over the fireworks on the ground, the fireworks crew cannot be on the field. They have to be in a covered area, but within so many feet of the fireworks. Then, where the drones are staged cannot be within the fallout zone of the fireworks. So, it’s very carefully coordinated. There is a [safety] zone and absolutely no one goes in that zone. We have staff and security onsite to make sure that this stays exactly in compliance.”
Shea added, “Our Apex Fire Marshal is on hand the entire time along with other first responders. We also have our volunteers from the police department — the CAPA team (Citizens Assisting Police in Apex) — to help patrol the areas where the people are sitting.
With an expected attendance of more than 25,000 people, guiding pedestrians around safe areas is critical. Raschke said, “We rope off an area so no one can come through. After the fireworks go off, [the team] must make sure that every firework went off. But they need 30 minutes to make sure everything’s cooled down before anyone can go near the fallout zone.”
Cox is excited about the event while acknowledging that it’s a massive effort. “One thing to brag about is our special events team and every department that touches a special event. There are so many details that go into the programming, the food trucks, the fun, the safety, and the clean-up afterwards. Our teams are responsible for bringing these parks back to a status where they can open again for enjoyment the next morning. When the event is over, and everyone heads home, our team steps in to make sure that the facilities are just as pristine as they were before, so that the next day when someone comes to the skate park or the baseball field or turf field, they don’t have any interruption in their play. We want to help attendees in leaving the festival area as clean as they found it, so we will have lots of trash cans.”
She added, “The Salem Streetscape project is going to be beautiful. We’re really excited about the project, but we know that it has taken some of our beloved events and required a different configuration for this year. We also realize that it’s the 250th anniversary of our country. So, we are thinking very intentionally about our Fireworks Frenzy event and keeping the beloved components of the Olde Fashioned Fourth of July, like the Parade of Wheels, because we know that these events foster community spirit.”
