December fireworks display at Asheville

Display location:Public Works Building parking lot
City:ASHEVILLE
State:NC
Date:Dec. 5, 12, and 19
Show contact:259-5800

Details: ASHEVILLE — Visitors to downtown can enjoy three consecutive Saturdays of fireworks in December celebrating Asheville's second annual Seasonal Sizzle at Seven.

The Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa donated $40,000 to cover the costs of the fireworks in a bid to bring more holiday business to downtown and to the nearby hotel.

Fireworks will go off at 7 p.m. Dec. 5, 12, and 19, whether it's raining or clear, said Diane Ruggiero, city superintendent of cultural arts. “We like our fireworks in Asheville. The three shows aren't the same. They will grow in size over the three weekends,” she said.

The fireworks will be shot off from the city's Public Works Building parking lot for about 20 minutes each of the three evenings.

South Charlotte Street will be closed for safety reasons during the fireworks, and traffic will be rerouted along Martin Luther King Boulevard.

The Grove Park will be working with the Asheville Downtown Merchants Association and the Asheville Independent Restaurants group to promote the fireworks.

“It's an effort to bring more people downtown and get them to stay downtown. We did it last year, and we heard from a lot of the merchants that it was very successful,” said Deborah Potter, a Grove Park Inn spokeswoman. “It will be great for our guests since they can see the fireworks from the Sunset Terrace.”

For more information, call the city's Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department at 259-5800.