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The Original Mangia Family Fireworks Celebration
Starting in 1966, Anthony "Bud" & Joanne Mangia began hosting an annual Fireworks Celebration in Gahanna to view the fireworks, which were launched a few hundred feet behind their house.
The City of Gahanna relocated the fireworks to launch at the Gahanna Municipal Golf Course in the late 1990s and the annual tradition took a pause for a few years.
"The Book of Bud"
"Papa Bud" took yearly inventory of what was prepared and what was used. He updated the same spiral notebook for the many decades he hosted the party. As the years went on, the book contained detailed notes about weather conditions, guest count, and more!
This famous notebook became known as "The Book of Bud".
Page 1, from the first Fireworks Celebration
The Return of the Annual
4th of July Celebration
Mike's oldest son, Mark, & his wife, Sarah, decided to bring back the family favorite 4th of July Celebration in the 2010s and hosted it annually until 2020.
2020: The Start OF A New Era
COVID-19 made for a very different celebration, but the tradition continued!
At a new location with more room to spread out and "social distance", Matt & Kate Mangia hosted the 2020 celebration for the first time.
2021 Celebration
2021's celebration was the start of a return to normal as we welcomed more faces old and new!
2022 - Construction year
Backyard construction made for a new layout, moving the party to the side and front yards. 2022 saw the return of one of the original Hot Dog Machines (used 40+ years ago) after tedious clean up and restoration from Tom Mangia. It was quite the highlight to have steamed buns back at the party!
Last Year's Celebration
2023's celebration returned to the backyard and it was the perfect year to kick off the swimming pool era for the party! The pool was a perfect escape from the hot and humid day.
Jeff Lucas provided an always fan-favorite bounce house and the hot dog machine returned for another great year.
With just under 100 people attending, this year will be remembered as one of the best 4th of July parties in recent memory!
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