New Year’s Eve fireworks are back in Beaufort. Watch the show from Waterfront Park
Fireworks will light up the night on New Year’s Eve in Beaufort for the first time in almost 10 years, thanks to a hospitality organization hoping to spark a new tradition and lure shoppers to downtown businesses. The show is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. and last for 30 minutes.
The display will light up the Beaufort River and the iconic homes and businesses and other structures along it like the Woods Memorial Bridge.
Residents and visitors should be at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park for the New Year’s Eve fireworks over Beaufort before the 9 p.m. start to the show. Organizers recommend bringing chairs and blankets for comfort.
The Beaufort Area Hospitality Association (BAHA) is sponsoring the show as a way to generate business for downtown stores and for the community to welcome in the new year, said BAHA’s Ashlee Houck, who noted tourism and spending in the city typically drops in January. The organization, which already has secured funding for fireworks in 2024, hopes the event can grow into something larger, perhaps even a festival, Houck said.
There were fireworks in 2011, when the city celebrated the 300th anniversary of its founding, said Mike McFee, a Beaufort City Council member who was involved in the planning. And New Year’s Eve fireworks continued for the next few years but were discontinued until BAHA revived them.
“People always come out for fireworks,” McFee said. “If the hospitality association feels like it can generate more people being here and in the stores, that’s great.”
Some pets, especially dogs, can be unsettled by the loud sounds. Veternarians recommend these eleven steps to keep your pet calm during and after the show.
