TOPEKA (KSNT) – A southeast Topeka neighborhood kicked off its Independence Day celebration a week early on Saturday, June 27, drawing thousands of people to the Summer Sky Extravaganza for food, family activities and the city’s first-ever drone light show.
The annual event, hosted by Fellowship Hi-Crest, replaced its traditional fireworks display with a drone show this year to make the celebration more inclusive for veterans, pets and others who are sensitive to loud noises.
“It used to be named our Summer Firework Extravaganza, but this year we changed it to our first-ever drone show,” said Johnathan Sublet, lead pastor at Fellowship Hi-Crest. “We did so because we had so many veteran friends and so many pet lovers who couldn’t handle loud noise, and we wanted to find a way to be as inclusive as possible.”
For Israel Perez and his wife, the change was enough to convince them to attend the event for the first time with their dog, Finn.
“Loud noises scare him,” Perez said. “And I had brothers with PTSD, so they didn’t like it either.”
In addition to the drone show, attendees spent the evening enjoying food trucks, a car show, water slides, live music and community resources. Organizations, including the Red Cross and voter registration volunteers, were also on site.
“Today is not only a drone show,” Sublet said. “The Red Cross is here, voter registration is here, moon bounces, water slides, a resource fair. All those things are available for the community, with a DJ, just a fun time to be had by all.”
Organizers expected as many as 3,000 people to attend, but said the event’s success goes beyond attendance numbers.
“As you drive through the neighborhood, you’ll see that people are throwing parties in their front yards all throughout the neighborhood,” Sublet said. “It’s not how many people are in our field, it’s how the neighborhood has turned this into their own thing.”
Organizers said they hope the new drone show demonstrates that Fourth of July celebrations can still create lasting memories while making more people feel welcome.