Hundreds packed the hillsides around Red Mountain Saturday night for Thunder on the Mountain, the city’s signature Fourth of July fireworks show at Vulcan Park & Museum. Crowds started staking out spots as early as 5 p.m., unfolding lawn chairs and picnic blankets hours before the first shell launched.The 20-minute show began at 9 p.m., filling the sky with more than 2,500 fireworks and effects synchronized to a patriotic soundtrack broadcast on local iHeartMedia stations. The annual tradition is one many say they circle on the calendar every year.“We come here every year, and me and my wife and kids used to come here every year,” said Vernon Meadows of Walker County. “She passed away in 2020, so we come here every year — me and my children — to see the show in honor of her, more or less. But we also come here to see the festivities for what it is, and it’s supposed to be one of the biggest, so that’s why we’re here now.”The long-running display is a centerpiece of Greater Birmingham’s Independence Day festivities, drawing viewers from neighborhoods across the metro to vantage points around the Vulcan statue and nearby parks. Organizers say months of preparation go into the synchronized production, which remains one of Alabama’s largest July 4 celebrations. As the show wrapped up, traffic bottlenecked on roads leading off Red Mountain. Police urged drivers and pedestrians to be patient, follow directions at intersections, and keep an eye out for families crossing busy streets.Thunder on the Mountain is free to attend and visible from dozens of viewing spots across the city. The spectacle typically lasts about 20 minutes and features a curated soundtrack simulcast on local radio for those watching from afar.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —
Hundreds packed the hillsides around Red Mountain Saturday night for Thunder on the Mountain, the city’s signature Fourth of July fireworks show at Vulcan Park & Museum. Crowds started staking out spots as early as 5 p.m., unfolding lawn chairs and picnic blankets hours before the first shell launched.
The 20-minute show began at 9 p.m., filling the sky with more than 2,500 fireworks and effects synchronized to a patriotic soundtrack broadcast on local iHeartMedia stations. The annual tradition is one many say they circle on the calendar every year.
“We come here every year, and me and my wife and kids used to come here every year,” said Vernon Meadows of Walker County. “She passed away in 2020, so we come here every year — me and my children — to see the show in honor of her, more or less. But we also come here to see the festivities for what it is, and it’s supposed to be one of the biggest, so that’s why we’re here now.”
The long-running display is a centerpiece of Greater Birmingham’s Independence Day festivities, drawing viewers from neighborhoods across the metro to vantage points around the Vulcan statue and nearby parks. Organizers say months of preparation go into the synchronized production, which remains one of Alabama’s largest July 4 celebrations.
As the show wrapped up, traffic bottlenecked on roads leading off Red Mountain. Police urged drivers and pedestrians to be patient, follow directions at intersections, and keep an eye out for families crossing busy streets.
Thunder on the Mountain is free to attend and visible from dozens of viewing spots across the city. The spectacle typically lasts about 20 minutes and features a curated soundtrack simulcast on local radio for those watching from afar.