OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) - After the City of Omaha Celebrates America concert was canceled last year, many are excited for it to be back this year.
City crews have been working all year to prepare.
"This event is really year-round planning,” said project manager Heidi Walz.
From booking talent to making sure there is security, there are a lot of moving parts to plan an event like this.
"As soon as we wrap things up on the evening of August 28, by Monday we will already be talking about booking talent and changes we want to make for the next year,” Walz said.
The Omaha Parks crew is behind the scenes year-round making sure the grounds are clean and prepared for this event.
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"We spend the whole year keeping this up as best as we can so it's respectful to our veterans and soldiers, and then we get to put on a show for them. There are some headaches sometimes with traffic in these high maintained areas, but all in all, it's a place for people to enjoy and it's part of our job so we throw some more grass seed down and mow the lines in the field,” said park maintenance manager Josh Frey.
Besides maintaining the grounds, 20 workers will start to set up the week before the concert.
"We have about 10,000 or more feet of fence to put up in the park and in between the concert area and the fireworks,” Frey said.
Parks staff will monitor over 100 trash barrels during the event as well.
"Through the event we have staff coming to handle the trash, fix any fences, and any kind of emergency the production company or anybody or police might have,” Frey said.
As guests leave after the show, parks crews will get busy with the cleanup.
"The week after we will have cleanup. Some volunteers come in for that as well,” Frey said.
This year the event was also moved to a Saturday as city planners figured families would be dealing with kids going back to school and they wanted to make sure everyone had time to spend the day at the park, have a picnic, and enjoy the free event.
Walz said that every fireworks show is a big one but this year is set to be even bigger and better than ever before.
If you happen to see an event organizer or city parks worker, make sure to acknowledge the hard work they put into the event.
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