RELLIS 4th of July Fireworks and Drone show: preparations and what to expect

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Thursday night the sky at Texas A&M University’s RELLIS campus will light up with fireworks and drones for the 4th of July.

But the traffic in and out of RELLIS’ campus will be busy.

Organizers are preparing for 6,000 to 8,000 people on RELLIS’ campus tomorrow night for the show, estimating around 4 thousand cars making their way into the parking lot on campus.

Debbie Albert, the traffic engineer for the event, said one can enter from either Highway 21 or Highway 47.

Entrances will open at 6 pm. but close at 8:45 p.m. before the show starts.

Officers will direct traffic, and there will be cones and signs people can follow.

Albert reminds the public that the ramp from State Highway 21 to 47 will be closed starting at 5 p.m. and if you’re headed north on 47 and want to go west on Highway 21, that ramp will be closed starting at 6 p.m. for safety and traffic control.

“We are really encouraging people not to park along the highways, along 21 and 47, we want to make sure it is a very safe event for everyone and we want everyone to go home after the event so encourage people to make really smart decisions or smart choices when traveling to and from the event,” said Albert.

Albert advises to be aware of your surroundings, have patience, and drive responsibly when entering and exiting the campus.

Community members have put in teamwork and long hours so that this event runs smoothly.

Cathy Edwards, the project manager for the event, said a year’s worth of planning goes into this firework and drone show.

Edwards said this year there will be about 300 drones that will light up the sky Thursday night.

“We start preparing for this event back in August, so about a year out, we start preparing to work with the drone and firework company which is Sky Wonder Pyrotechnics, they’ve been great to work with,” said Edwards.

It’s not just the fireworks and drones that take almost a year to plan, they start working with dozens of vendors to make the event happen.

“We work with a lot of vendors, a lot of them on the Texas A&M Campus that help us, from moving to just getting the grounds ready for the event,” said Edwards.

And with expected large crowds and Texas heat, security and safety is a top priority.

“We work with TAMUPD, EMS Services, TNT Security Solutions to help with traffic control, as well as security so there’s a lot of vendors and a lot of people that help pull this event off,” said Edwards.

From prepping the grass of the launch site to setting up restrooms, teamwork makes this Independence Day event fun and smooth for all.

“We are really excited about the drones and fireworks this year, the drones are going to be bigger and better than ever,” said Edwards.

Edwards recommends for the public to show up early and stay hydrated.

Gates will open at 6 pm where you can enjoy food trucks and the fireworks show will kick off at 9 p.m.

If you can’t make it out to the RELLIS campus tomorrow night, you can watch the show from home.

We’re airing it on CW 8 tomorrow at 8 p.m.

We’ll also be streaming the fireworks and drone show on our website as well as our Facebook page.