☀️ GOOD MORNING, HOLLYWOOD!
Happy Wednesday! The Fourth is almost here - the nation's 250th this Saturday - so today we've got where to catch fireworks across Broward, Hollywood's billion-dollar flood plan, Harrison Street's glow-up, Madison Beer at Hard Rock, and the beach traffic plan you'll want before the weekend. Grab your coffee and let's dive in.

📋 IN TODAY'S BLEND
🗓️ Events - July 1-4
🌤️ Today's Weather - Wednesday, July 1
📌 Today's Top Story - Where to Watch Broward Fireworks
🌧️ Hollywood's $1 Billion Flood Plan
🏗️ Harrison Street's Glow-Up
🌅 Broadwalk Holiday Game Plan
🎤 Madison Beer at Hard Rock Live
🌟 Spotlight - Your July 4 Beach Traffic Plan

🗓️ WHAT'S HAPPENING - July 1-4

📅 Wednesday, July 1 - Today!
🤍 The Garden of We COVID-19 Memorial Dedication - 10 AM | Bob Butterworth Park, 5202 Washington St | Free
🏗️ Harrison Street light-pole install (no road closures)
🧘 Dania Pointe Wellness Wednesdays - Yoga 6 PM / Zumba 7 PM | Free
🍷 Wine Down Wednesday at Margaritaville - 5-6 PM | Free

📅 Thursday, July 2
🎤 Madison Beer at Hard Rock Live - 8 PM | Hollywood
🎭 Fort Lauderdale Improv at Dania Pointe - check weekly headliner | Dania Beach

📅 Friday, July 3
⚽ World Cup Round of 32 at Hard Rock - 6 PM | Miami

📅 Saturday, July 4
🎆 Star-Spangled Spectacular: America's 250th - Hollywood Beach Bandshell; DJ 5 PM / band 7 PM / fireworks ~9 PM | Free

👀 COMING UP
⚽ World Cup Quarterfinal at Hard Rock - Sat July 11, 5 PM
🥉 World Cup Bronze Final at Hard Rock - Sat July 18
🌊 World Cup Final downtown watch party - Sun July 19
🎤 Lionel Richie + Earth, Wind & Fire - Hard Rock Live, Fri July 24

🌡️ High: ~90° | Feels like 100°+ | Afternoon storms possible
A typical hot, humid July day with afternoon thunderstorms likely. Hydrate, grab shade midday, and get your beach time in early. The Atlantic stays quiet, no tropical concerns heading into the holiday weekend.

Source: usharbors.com (forecast) | seatemperature.net (water temp)

🎆 Where to Catch Fireworks Across Broward for America's 250th

The Fourth is Saturday, and it's a big one, the nation's 250th, so the whole area is going all out. Closest to home, Hollywood Beach's Star-Spangled Spectacular lights up the Bandshell with live music through the evening and offshore fireworks at 9 p.m.

Rather stay inland? Davie's "Fun on the 4th" at Pine Island Park adds a drone show before its 9 p.m. fireworks, and Pembroke Pines throws a festival at the Pines Rec Center with rides, food trucks, and a fireworks finale (both roughly 6-9 p.m.). Fort Lauderdale Beach hosts its own Spectacular along the sand.

Wherever you land, arrive early, the good spots fill fast on the 250th.

Source: CBS Miami

1. 🌧️ Hollywood Commits $1 Billion to Fighting the Floods

Hollywood just made one of its biggest infrastructure bets in memory. The city commission adopted a Comprehensive Stormwater Master Plan, an estimated $1 billion strategy spread over the next 20 to 30 years to cut flood risk and upgrade aging drainage.

For a low-lying coastal city that knows king tides and summer downpours, it's a long game: bigger pipes, pumps, and smarter drainage phased in over decades.

Nothing changes overnight, but it sets the direction for how Hollywood handles water for a generation.

Source: Southeast Florida Climate Compact

2. 🏗️ Harrison Street's Glow-Up Is Ahead of Schedule

Downtown Hollywood's Harrison Street Streetscape Project is running ahead of schedule, and you'll see progress this week. New light poles go up along the finished stretches Wednesday and Thursday (July 1-2), with no road closures, just a few parking spaces borrowed by the crews.

Then on Monday, July 6, work shifts into Phase 6 on the north side of the 2000 block (between 20th and 21st). The westbound lane closes during daytime hours and reopens each evening, and sidewalks and businesses stay open throughout.

The payoff is the walkable, string-lit downtown in the city's renderings, getting closer block by block.

Source: City of Hollywood / Hollywood CRA

3. 🌅 Your Hollywood Beach Broadwalk Game Plan for the Long Weekend

Planning to hit the Broadwalk over the holiday weekend? A little strategy goes a long way. The 2.5-mile oceanfront promenade will be packed, so come early, bike or walk in if you can, and stake out a spot before the crowds.

The Johnson Street stretch has the cafes and the free Bandshell action; head north toward North Beach Park for a quieter patch, or south toward the Dania pier. Grab a paleta, find some shade, and settle in.

And with the Fourth on Saturday, the beachfront is your front-row seat for the fireworks.

Source: Visit Lauderdale

4. 🎤 Madison Beer Brings 'The Locket Tour' to Hard Rock Live

Pop star Madison Beer plays Hard Rock Live this Thursday, July 2 at 8 p.m., her Locket Tour stopping at the Seminole Hard Rock right in our backyard. Singers Thuy and Lulu Simon open.

Known for a soaring voice and a big online following, Beer is one of the buzzier names to hit the Guitar Hotel this summer.

A fun midweek night out before the holiday weekend, and tickets are still around if you move quick.

Source: Hard Rock Live

🔗 Watch the traffic breakdown

🚦 Heading to the Beach for the Fourth? Know the Traffic Plan

Getting to and from Hollywood Beach on July 4 runs on a special one-way system, and the city posted a quick video breaking it down. The short version: A1A is northbound-only from Hollywood Boulevard to Sheridan Street, and southbound-only from Sheridan back to Hollywood Boulevard. Cars entering A1A from oceanside streets can only turn right, and traffic leaving the North Beach Park area gets routed north and west onto the Hollywood Boulevard bridge ramp.

Follow the posted signs, traffic control devices, and officers on the ground, and give yourself extra time. A Hollywood Police officer walks through the whole pattern in under a minute.

🔗 Watch the traffic breakdown
Source: City of Hollywood (Facebook)