"This is tradition:" Family, fellowship, food and FUN at Veterans Park ahead of fireworks show



MILWAUKEE -- 3,600 mortars will explode over Lake Michigan and Milwaukee's Veterans Park before thousands of spectators Sunday night, July 3rd during the US Bank Fireworks Show.

People continued to show up on Sunday -- ready to see the fireworks, but the real fans arrived long before Sunday afternoon.

Some got to Veterans Park at 4:00 a.m. Saturday to grab their spots!

Veterans Park



 

"You gotta be the first person here, get the front spot. People are pretty cutthroat," Eliot Kaufmann said.

Kaufmann and his friends were among those arriving at 4:00 a.m. Friday. They're from Milwaukee, but currently live as far away as South Africa. Sunday along Milwaukee's lakefront was their reunion.

"We've known each other 20 years and we always come down here. It's our favorite day of the year. This is our 10th year," Kaufmann said.

Eliot Kaufmann and friends



Others relied on the early-rising family members to set up the tents and stake out a spot -- coming down later on Sunday to hang out and watch the fireworks.

Veterans Park



Most said family was the reason for their gathering.

"This is a tradition for us. We come out for family time, not just because it`s Independence Day. But it also allows us a time to spend with our family and friends and things like that, because life is so busy nowadays," Yasmina Carroll said.

Maurice Woods and Amy Dunn



There were plenty of ways to pass the 40 hours until the fireworks would begin -- but if arriving early was so important for this fireworks show, Maurice Woods and Amy Dunn seemed awfully casual about it.

"We'll go home and grab some dinner and come back. Hopefully the spot will still be here," they said.

Maurice was visiting Amy, a student at Marquette University for the Fourth of July holiday weekend, and they decided to spend some time in a hammock over Lake Michigan before the show.

Maurice Woods and Amy Dunn



"We had the hammock in our backpack and were thinking the trees would be a good thing, but all the real estate's taken, so we had to invent.  It's our first time hammocking over the water and over exposed waves," they said.

Maurice and Amy said getting to their spot at Veterans Park was easy -- but getting out would be a different story.

"We're going to have to be creative. We haven't thought that far," they said.

Their spot was a guarantee no one would be in front of them for the show.

"And we won't be in anybody's way either. It'll be a great view," they said.

Maurice Woods and Amy Dunn



You can watch the entire US Bank Fireworks Show uninterrupted LIVE on FOX6, FOX6Now.com, your FOX6 News Mobile App and on Facebook (FOX6 News Milwaukee).