'It's about celebrating unity and freedom': Fanfares & Fireworks celebrated on UF campus

Despite the humid 80 degrees and a small chance of rain that lingered into the evening, families still gathered on the University of Florida's Flavet Field for the annual Fanfares & Fireworks show on Sunday. 

The event kicked off at 6 p.m. and with a few thousand people scattered across the Flavet field with the anticipation to see fireworks to kick off the Independence Day holiday, celebrated annually on July 3 with the UF campus event. 

Takisha Holmes laid out her blanket in front of the stadium, with a rain coat close at hand, along with an extra blanket and a bottle of water. 

Holmes has been coming to Fanfares & Fireworks show for years, she said. 

"It's about celebrating what God has blesses us with. Celebrating unity and freedom," Holmes said. 

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Larry Whitler and Robin Macplain are both Ocala residents. Whitler said this was only his second year attending event, however Macplain she has been showing up to the event for years. 

"The fireworks is just a great way to remember we're free. But there was a price that was paid at one time and continues to be paid. So it's important to remember the celebration of freedom," Whitler said. 

The event is thrown by UF's public television station WUFT as a "gift to the public," said Sue Wagner, spokeswoman for the station. 

"A lot of people like to celebrate the Fourth of July. It's a great patriotic holiday; we serve the community ... and people enjoy the Fourth of July and it's kind of a lull in Gainesville in the summer. This is a great way to get people excited for things coming up later in the year," Wagner said. 

Roger Robar, a Jacksonville native, brought his wife, Alice, and his two children out to usher in his birthday that he shares with the national holiday. 

Robar who turned 51 said this is his second year coming with his family, but has memories coming with his parents when he was a boy. 

"It's nice to remember that as divided as we can sometimes feel when we disagree with each other, that we're all Americans and we all love the country and we all are getting together to celebrate," Robar said. 

Mrs. Robar is from the United Kingdom but has been in the U.S. for six years. 

"I like fireworks when it's warm outside because in my country, we have fireworks in for the fifth of November (Guy Fawkes Day) and it's very cold. So I like watching fireworks in my short sleeves," Robar said. 

Fanfares and Fireworks has been a community holiday celebration since the early '90s. It was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It came back last year with high expectations. 

"It kind of was a great opportunity to people for people to finally go outside ... and last year, the community really embraced it because they were just so happy that it was probably the first event on campus since COVID," Wagner said. 

People who came to the event were able to hear from local bands such as The Martin Family Band, Bears and Lions, Sooza Brass Band, Gainesville Community Band and the Gainesville “POPS” under the direction of Gary Langford.