City of Overland Park cancels Star Spangled Spectacular

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The city of Overland Park announced the cancellation of its Star Spangled Spectacular on Thursday night due to flooding.

Indian Creek flooded into Corporate Woods Founders’ Park during the overnight storms.

“I live just south of here about a half mile,” resident Brian Tannahill said in an interview with FOX4 Thursday. “We had, I don’t know how long it rained, I was lying in bed listening to it for quite a mile.”

Tannahill bikes in the park

A city spokesperson said the park is extremely muddy and not safe to host several thousands of people.

“You think about what is the environment and the experience like for people who come?” Overland Park Director of Strategic Communications Meg Ralph said Thursday. “I don’t know that I would necessarily want to sit in two inches of mud during the show, and so that’s really where the thought process was.”

The city has rescheduled the fireworks for Friday at 10 p.m. Due to the date change, there will be no food trucks or musical performances, so the stage that was already set up for Thursday evening won’t have a use.

“I’d be interested to know if it’s going to dry out in time for that,” resident Gary Gottsch said when he was told the fireworks show was being rescheduled for 10 p.m. Friday. “The first rain wasn’t bad. The three inches last night, it’s soupy. I don’t know if it’s going to dry out today.”
The spectacular was originally scheduled to start at 5 p.m. Thursday. Ralph says it takes a full 24 hours to set up the stage and get the vendors in the park.

“We sure hope so,” she said when asked if the city was confident, it’ll be able to do this Friday. “You know if it rains tomorrow, and we have a similar situation, we’ll check in on it again in the morning.”

The city of Leawood’s postponed its fireworks show that was planned for Thursday. It will happen at 9:45 p.m. Friday. The Johnson County Fireworks Display, originally set for Wednesday, will now happen Friday night too at 9:45 in Roeland Park.

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