Independence Day Celebration — Palm Bay, Florida

The Palm Bay Fourth of July fireworks show is part of the free Independence Day Celebration at the Eastern Florida State College Palm Bay Campus, 250 Community College Parkway SE, held on Saturday, July 4 in 2026 (City of Palm Bay, June 22, 2026).

The City of Palm Bay Recreation Department organizes the night. Its June 22, 2026 release calls the college campus home to the Space Coast's biggest Independence Day fireworks show and lists the event as free, culminating in a spectacular fireworks display beginning at approximately 9:15 p.m. (City of Palm Bay news release). Admission and parking are free.

The 2026 edition is over. The city's Independence Day Celebration page now thanks everyone who came out on Saturday, July 4 to celebrate Independence Day and 250 Years of American Freedom (City of Palm Bay Independence Day Celebration page). As of October 13, 2026, no date for the 2027 Palm Bay celebration had been posted; the city has used the same campus on Community College Parkway SE every year from 2023 through 2026.

Palm Bay has not always held its fireworks on July 4: the city moved the celebration to a nearby day in three of the last four years, and only the 2026 edition landed on the holiday itself.

The June 2023 Mayor's Message invited residents to the 2023 Independence Day Celebration on Sunday, July 2, from 5-9pm at the Eastern Florida State College Palm Bay Campus (June 2023 Mayor's Message). In 2024 the date was Friday, July 5 (June 2024 Mayor's Message), and in 2025 it was Saturday, July 5, from 5-9 pm at the same Palm Bay campus (June 2025 Mayor's Message).

In 2026 the city tied the event to the national anniversary. The June 2026 message asked residents to mark calendars for Saturday, July 4, as Palm Bay kicked off America's 250th birthday (June 2026 Mayor's Message), and the city release framed the evening around 250 Years of American Freedom. From 2023 to 2026 the date appeared each year in the June Mayor's Message from Palm Bay City Hall, published at the start of that month.

The 2026 Palm Bay program paired live music, a dog dance act, aerial performers and a free Kids Zone on the Eastern Florida State College grounds before the Zambelli Fireworks show (City of Palm Bay news release).

The City of Palm Bay release listed The Khemistry Band on stage from 6:45 to 8:45 p.m., a dog dance show from a Season 17 America's Got Talent act at 5:30 p.m., and Hoopz 321, a Space Coast group doing aerial and flow arts with LED apparatuses, silk fans and hula hoops. A DJ served as emcee through the evening.

The Kids Zone at the Palm Bay event included inflatables, games, airbrush tattoos and a foam pit, all free. The Recreation Department's special events coordinator said in the same release that thousands of residents and visitors gather in Palm Bay each year for the celebration.

Lawn chairs and blankets are welcome at the Palm Bay fireworks, while tents, coolers, alcohol, pets, weapons, personal fireworks, grills, golf carts and soliciting are prohibited on the college campus (City of Palm Bay news release).

The City of Palm Bay asks guests to bring lawn chairs and blankets for comfortable viewing of the entertainment and fireworks. Food trucks and vendors are part of the event on the Eastern Florida State College Palm Bay Campus, and the city has advertised them every year since at least 2023 (July 2023 Mayor's Message).

The 2026 release lists pets among the prohibited items without exception, on the same list as golf carts, grills and tents (City of Palm Bay news release).

Zambelli Fireworks has produced the Palm Bay Independence Day fireworks in each year from 2023 through 2026, according to the Mayor's Messages issued from Palm Bay City Hall (June 2024 Mayor's Message).

The invitations use similar wording each year. In 2023 and 2024 the city was pleased to welcome back Zambelli Fireworks, food trucks, and various vendors for the biggest and brightest Independence Day Celebration on the Space Coast (June 2023 Mayor's Message). In 2025 Palm Bay was once again partnering with Zambelli Fireworks (July 2025 Mayor's Message), and in July 2026 Mayor Rob Medina wrote that Zambelli Fireworks would present the largest fireworks display on the Space Coast (July 2026 Mayor's Message).

The 2026 Palm Bay event was presented by Republic Services and sponsored by the Space Coast Office of Tourism, local businesses and the City of Palm Bay (City of Palm Bay news release). The same release invited both residents and visitors to the Palm Bay campus, and the Space Coast Office of Tourism sat on the sponsor list beside the City of Palm Bay.

Florida law does not prohibit the use of fireworks solely and exclusively on three designated holidays, Independence Day (July 4), New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, which applies in Palm Bay as everywhere in the state (Florida Statutes 791.08).

Section 791.08 of the Florida Statutes says Chapter 791 does not prohibit the use of fireworks solely and exclusively during a designated holiday, and defines those holidays as New Year's Day, January 1; Independence Day, July 4; and New Year's Eve, December 31. The same section says it is not intended to supersede any local governmental regulation relating to the use of fireworks, so City of Palm Bay rules still apply.

The city celebration has its own rule. Personal fireworks are on the Palm Bay prohibited list for the Eastern Florida State College event (City of Palm Bay news release), and in years when Palm Bay held its show on July 2 or July 5, those evenings were not a designated holiday under section 791.08 at all.

Last verified: October 13, 2026, on the City of Palm Bay website and the Florida Legislature statutes site.