July 4th / America's 250th Weekend Guide

Good Thursday morning from The Seawall. This is the Fourth of July weekend guide — and this year, the Fourth turns 250.

Here's the headline you actually need: there is a fireworks show within a few miles of wherever you live, and some of them are Friday, not Saturday. Friday July 3: Diamondhead (9 PM), Freedom Over Ocean Springs on Front Beach (fireworks 9 PM), a show at Campground Baptist in Gulfport, and fireworks after the Biloxi Shuckers game. Saturday July 4 — America's 250th: Gulfport's Ignite the Night over the harbor (8:45 PM), the Biloxi barge near Deer Island (9 PM), Pascagoula along Beach Boulevard (8:45 PM), Hancock County out at Necaise (after dark), and another Shuckers fireworks night.

Running underneath all of it: the 78th Mississippi Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo at Jones Park (Thu–Sun) and the 42nd Our Lady of the Gulf Crab Festival in Bay St. Louis (Thu–Sat), which closes Saturday night with Kings of Neon.

Full map below — plus a downtown Ocean Springs house that's really two homes in one, and a dog at JCAS who'd like to be home before the fireworks start

78th Mississippi Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo · Jones Park / Barksdale Pavilion, Gulfport (Harrison) · Thu July 2 – Sun July 5. Competitive fishing, giant fish display, two stages of live entertainment, carnival rides, vendors, Princess Scholarship Pageant, fireworks over the Gulf. mississippideepseafishingrodeo.com.

42nd Annual OLG Crab Festival · OLG Catholic Church, Bay St. Louis (Hancock) · Thu July 2 – Sat July 4. Gulf seafood, live music, arts & crafts, 5K + one-mile fun run, raffles, rides. Closes Saturday night with Kings of Neon. olgchurch.net · 228-467-6509.

📩 Venue owners: email your lineup to [email protected] by Tuesday noon.

The Seawall now runs once a week — here's what's new.

Venue owners: Email your weekly lineup to [email protected] by Wednesday noon for Thursday's issue. No charge.

Good news: both fireworks nights are clear.

Bottom line: As good as a Gulf Coast Fourth gets — dry and clear both fireworks nights. Hot + humid (mid-90s, feels-like higher): hydrate, find shade at the daytime festivals, bring water to the Rodeo + Crab Festival.

Freddie Mac PMMS — most recent available:

The week of the Fourth is quiet on paper but one of the most revealing weeks to experience a neighborhood. If there's a street you've been circling, be on it this weekend — who's out, what you can hear from the porch, how the holiday traffic moves. The paperwork can wait until next week.

One personal note. After years of writing this section, I finally made it official — I'm now a licensed Mississippi real estate salesperson with REAL Brokerage. Same honest read on the Coast market you get here every week; now, if you're thinking about buying or selling anywhere from Hancock to Jackson County, I can actually help you do it. I'm also a Ramsey-trained financial coach, so if you'd rather just talk through whether the numbers make sense — no pressure, no pitch — that's one of my favorite conversations to have. Reply any time. — Rob

Robert Recio · 228-325-1502 S62221 · REAL Broker, LLC · Serving Hancock, Harrison & Jackson counties. House of the Week is a market feature, not our own listing unless noted. Equal Housing Opportunity. Reader Question of the Week

Mostly compared to the Florida and Alabama coasts an hour or two east. A Gulf-front or Gulf-adjacent home on the Mississippi Coast still trades at a real discount to comparable water in Orange Beach, Destin, or 30A — partly for real reasons (insurance, storm history) and partly slower discovery. The bet people make moving here is that the gap narrows as the restaurants, festivals, and music rooms fill in. "Undervalued" isn't a promise; it's a thesis. But if you're going to be on the northern Gulf, the Mississippi Coast is still where the same dollar buys the most house and the most yard.

Some houses are one house. 501 General Pershing Avenue is quietly two. A few minutes from downtown Ocean Springs, this 2001 home is set up as two complete living spaces under one roof — multi-generational living without the compromise. Four bedrooms, three baths, 2,832 sqft on a third-acre lot, two-car garage, $300 a foot. Community golf, community boat facilities, open-concept main, French doors — and the detail that matters most on this coast, a whole-house Generac generator. When the next storm takes the grid down, this house keeps its lights, AC, and refrigerator running. Listed 25 days at $850,000.

The numbers: $850,000 · $300/sqft · 4 bed / 3 bath · 2,832 sqft · 0.32 acre · built 2001 · whole-house Generac · community golf + boat · MLS #4151896

Contact: Lizzie Fontenelle · CENTURY 21 J. Carter & Company · MLS #4151896 (MLSUnited)

Got a Coast real-estate question? Reply to this email — we'll answer one a week.

Meet Bayou — an adult retriever mix at JCAS in Gautier, the most Gulf Coast name in the building and the right temperament for a loud weekend.

A public-service note wrapped in a dog story: the Fourth of July is the hardest weekend of the year for dogs — more pets bolt and go missing around fireworks than at any other time, part of why shelters fill up in early July. If you've been thinking about adopting, this is a good week to do it: you make room for the strays the holiday scatters, and you give a dog a quiet house to ride out the noise.

Bayou is a grown retriever mix — people-first, eager to please, happiest with a family to belong to and a little water to be near (the name fits). Past the puppy chaos and into the steady years. Set him up inside with the AC and something to chew Saturday night and the fireworks stay the humans' problem. Adoption $50 (vaccinations, worming, spay/neuter, free health-exam certificate).

Jackson County Animal Shelter · 4400 Audubon Lane, Gautier · (228) 497-6350 · co.jackson.ms.us/165/Pet-Adoptions · Mon–Fri 10–4, Sat 10–2

LOW TIDE LAUGHS

A Coast newsletter should probably make room for at least one thing that doesn’t ask anything from you except a smirk.

So we are.

Jazz on the Coast brought Blackwater Brass and River Eckert to the Saenger Saturday evening. One pelican had an advance ticket. The other one arrived with the band and made a decision. This week's Low Tide Laughs has both experiences covered.

SPONSOR

MapPulse Agency helps local businesses get found where it counts — Google, maps, search, reviews, and websites that actually help bring in customers. If your business needs stronger local visibility, they know the terrain.

A FEW LOCAL LINKS WORTH KEEPING HANDY

If you want to go deeper by county, keep these local sites handy:

Jackson County MS
https://www.jacksoncountyms.com

Harrison County MS
https://www.harrisoncountyms.com

Hancock County MS
https://www.hancockcountyms.com

That’s part of the larger idea here too. The Seawall shouldn’t just point at itself. It should help connect people to the broader local web that already exists across the Coast.

SPONSOR

Cornerstone Numismatics works with collectors and buyers looking for coins, currency, bullion, and real numismatic expertise. If you want trusted guidance in the coin world, this is a name worth knowing.

Got news, an opening, or a tip? Reply to this email — every reply goes straight to the editor.

Subscribe a friend: theseawall.beehiiv.com

Two hundred and fifty years. Whatever county you're in, the sky lights up this weekend — Friday for some of us, Saturday for the rest. Find your spot early, bring a chair, and check on the dog before the first boom. Happy Fourth. Take someone with you.

Rob
The Seawall