Controversy as Tacoma's July 4 celebration set to move to Point Ruston and new Dune park

TACOMA, Wash. — Tacoma’s annual Fourth of July celebration is moving north in 2020, and the change has prompted the event’s longtime producers to quit.

It also no longer will be called Freedom Fair.

Metro Parks and the city have designated Dune Peninsula, Cummings Park and Ruston Way between the Lobster Shop at 4105 Ruston Way and Point Ruston as the new footprint for the Independence Day event.

The event will straddle the Point Ruston development.

Previous Freedom Fairs, including this year's, have occurred on Ruston Way from McCarver Street in Old Town to the Lobster Shop.

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The Freedom Fair name belongs to the Tacoma Events Commission, a nonprofit the city has contracted with since the 1980s to produce the event.

Metro Parks’ involvement is a first, other than providing park space for previous events.

Gary Grape, the CEO of the Events Commission, said it appeared the city, Metro Parks and others “are conspiring behind the scenes to get rid of this iconic event.”

The changes were made without consulting Ruston Way businesses, the Events Commission or the public, Grape said.

“Nobody knew anything about it,” Grape said.

A June 20 request for proposal (RFP) was the first notice of the changes, Grape said. Proposals are due July 29.

The change in location reflects the recent opening of the Dune Peninsula at Point Defiance Park, said Metro Parks spokesman Hunter George.

“It’s expanding into Dune,” George said. “It’s still covering much of the Ruston Way waterfront.”

The city approached Metro Parks to take over the event.

“It is something they wanted to team up with Metro Parks because they are not subject matter experts in producing events for the community,” said Phedra Redifer, Metro Parks’s regional parks manager.

The new contract is an opportunity to modernize the event, Redifer said.

“What is it the community really wants from this annual Fourth of July celebration?” she said.

“The desire is to present a first-class annual celebration that includes such elements as traditional fireworks, intentional celebration of diversity of cultures in Tacoma, family-oriented activities and entertainment,” Metro Parks said in the RFP.

The RFP notes the celebration is expected to attract 75,000 people to the waterfront. Grape said his event brings 125,000 to Ruston Way.

A “first class” fireworks show is part of the RFP, but it does not state where the fireworks barge would be located.

Redifer said there has been talk of moving the barge further offshore to give a wider view of the fireworks.

When dawn breaks on 2020’s event, Dune Peninsula at Point Defiance Park will have been open one year and two days. The 11-acre park contains mounds, grassy areas and pathways.

The RFP says Metro Parks strongly supports Dune Peninsula as being a ticketed admission area in order to provide revenue. The peninsula has a large events lawn.

The city will contribute $30,000 to the event.

The RFP makes no mention of an air show, a highlight of Freedom Fair. While not required, George said, Metro Parks is open to an air show.

In a statement released Thursday, the Events Commission said it will not be submitting a bid to Metro Parks.

“It is an absurd plan not in the best interest of either the community or local businesses and, frankly, the TEC wants nothing to do with it,” the statement read.

The statement suggested Metro Parks and the city are putting on an event for the residents and customers of Point Ruston.

The Water Walk, the pedestrian trail along the waterfront in front of Point Ruston, is just under one mile. Some of the elements for the July 4 celebration could take place along that portion, Redifer said.

“The public can still go from Ruston Way along the Water Walk to reach Dune,” she said.

The Events Commission said it is planning its own Freedom Fair on private property along Ruston Way and in downtown Tacoma.

The News Tribune