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By BARTON PERKINS | Staff Writer

PELHAM- The beach of Oak Mountain State Park was packed to the brim with families on Monday, July 3, as Shelby County residents started their Fourth of July festivities a day early on the annual return of Fire on the Water.

Oak Mountain opened its gates at 7 a.m, and the entire park was crammed full of activities for families to do. Everything from Bald Eagle Talks at the Alabama Wildlife Center to ‘Teacher Creature’ sessions inside Oak Mountain Interpretive Center or just hanging out by the beaches lazing around in the water.

“You can be out here all day,” said Maggie Nelson, who attended the event with her family. “It keeps everybody busy, and there’s plenty to do and the fireworks at night are a good way to wrap up the day.”

The festivities kicked off around 5 p.m. with attendees heading to the water to secure a place to eat and watch the fireworks.

Some people cooked out themselves on small charcoal camping grills, while others got food from the different food trucks in attendance. 

A few of the food trucks present included:

• Southern Coffee and Waffle
• Uncle G’s Pizza
• Urban Pops
• Krazy Good BBQ
• The Craft Burger

“The food was great, and the experience has been amazing,” said Shelby Resident Lamaria Sims, who attended the event. “I’ve liked Uncle G’s Pizza the best so far.”

At 6 p.m. it began to storm and attendees quickly returned to their vehicles to wait out the rain while others took cover at the bar in anticipation of the fireworks. 

A sizable number of folks crowded under the covered bar overlooking the lake, sipping on beer as they waited for the thunderstorms to blow through and hopeful they would still be seeing fireworks light up the sky. 

Fire on the Water is a staple of many people’s Fourth of July celebrations, and even a storm was not able to ruin it.

“I like the fireworks, but I like just the community just coming out and being together,” said Touontra Stafford, who attended the event.

Despite the rain and lightning, a lot of families stayed until the end of the event.