Fort Stewart may have toned down its July 4 festivities this year, but there will be no shortage of fireworks for individual community members who want to celebrate Independence Day with a bang.
Hosted by Life United Pentecostal Church in Hinesville, the TNT Fireworks tent has been setting up semi-annually in Walmart’s parking lot for six years now, and it provides pyrotechnics for July 4 and New Year’s.
 “We’ve been doing this since whenever Georgia legalized class 3 ‘safe and sane’ fireworks,” TNT Director David Midgorden said.  
Open from 9 a.m.-10 p.m., the tent offers a variety of fireworks, such as sparklers and “fountains,” that can be purchased individually or in packages.
Each year, the church chooses a ministry to donate the fireworks tent’s profits to. This year, most of the money will fund the church youths’ trip to Youth Congress in Kentucky. The remainder will be distributed to other ministries.
“During the fourth, we roughly sell anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000 worth of fireworks,” Midgorden said. “But New Year’s isn’t that much.
 “Fireworks symbolize the wars we fought and won. Of course, back then they fired off weapons and cannons to celebrate,” he said.
Since the news spread that budget cuts took a toll on Fort Stewart’s usual July 4 festivities, Midgorden said he and other workers from the church expect solid sales.
“I’d say it’s a good possibility that sales go up this year,” he said. “A lot of brigades are home this year, which will bring more people to the tent, too.”