The show ran about 22-23 minutes long and was not hampered by the rain that started creeping in near the end.”

Hastings was out for the Fourth of July, and they were ready to enjoy the day. Thousands of residents lined 15th Street West and Westview Drive for the 7 p.m. parade hosted by the Hastings Golf Club and Events and even more watched the 10 p.m. fireworks show presented by Vermillion Bank from the golf course and surrounding open spaces around town.

The parade was roughly 40 minutes from start to finish at any given point and it took about an hour and a half for the parade to reach the end at Hastings Golf Club. The parade had over 60 entries which is great for its second year of running. Adding Westview Drive was a brilliant move by parade organizers. It extended the parade by only half a mile, but there were a lot of people crammed in that extra half mile and everyone seemed to love it. There was a maybe a minute of light rain and it was a bit toasty even for a 7 p.m. start but the night was perfect for the parade.

The fireworks show presented by Vermillion Bank and the related community party at Hastings Golf Club was well attended on site and around the area. The show ran about 22-23 minutes long and was not hampered by the rain that started creeping in near the end. People were commenting how the show did not have any of the bright white, loud bang type fireworks in it this year and most seemed to appreciate it.

Many families around town put on smaller shows of their own before the main show, and that was fun to see on the same night. Now that we are eight days plus past the fourth, it is time to end the late-night fireworks displays in town until next year.

If you want to join the parade next year, contact the Hastings Golf Club at www.hastingsgolfclub.com