Fireworks, families, fun and the Fourth of July came together Saturday for a community-wide holiday celebration hosted by the Milledgeville Mall.

Strong storms moving through the area became cause for concern mid-afternoon when lightning, heavy rains and high winds entered the area around 4 p.m.

The threat of severe weather was enough cause for concern that at one point there were reports from the Eatonton Wal-Mart of everyone inside being hustled to safe locations from the storm as the weather moved through.

A few hours later, patrons at the Carmike Cinema behind Milledgeville Mall had their viewing experiences temporarily interrupted as Carmike employees stood in front of the screens and informed the audience of the possibility of the weather knocking out power to the building, which reportedly happened to a Carmike Cinemas theater in Conyers.

Some potential Carmike patrons chose to leave the theater or return for later showings rather than risk the possibility of being caught in a pattern of severe weather that has seemed more common than normal in recent months; however, Sherrie Summer of Eatonton decided to wait it out and continue her movie experience.

“I live about 7 miles outside of Eatonton and have lived through this before. It seems that in the three years that I’ve lived at my current residence that this spring and summer has just been worse than in previous years. We just finished repairing our landscaping that was damaged a few months ago from hail and wind,” Summer said.

While movie theater employees were busy following standard procedures and looking out for the safety of Carmike customers, over at Milledgeville Mall similar preparations and announcements were being made to mall customers that had taken advantage of the mall’s “Family Safety Day/Fourth of July Celebration” both inside and outside the mall.

“It wasn’t too bad. We were worried at one point but we were watching the radar and making sure that everyone inside was safe. The rain did force us to close down a few outdoor items, but they opened up again later,” Milledgeville Mall Manager Maggie Stalnaker said.

Stalnaker had a lot on her mind Saturday — as manager of the mall, she had to ensure the safety of mall patrons and keep an open line of communication between herself, mall security, mall tenants, the Milledgeville Fire Department, the Milledgeville Police Department and Atlanta-based Atlanta Pyrotechnics, the company charged with putting on the 2008 July Fourth-related fireworks display for the mall.

Milledgeville resident Brandi Mitchell has made it a family tradition to view the fireworks as they’re lit up each year.

Though severe weather has seemed to appear every year (“It certainly seems that way,” Stalnaker remarks), Mitchell didn’t let early reports of the possibility of rain moving through stop her, her son William Mason IV and William’s father William Mason III from driving to the mall and finding a good location for viewing.

“I’m hoping for fireworks and a lot of excitement. I came here as a kid and now I’m bringing my son, who’s 16 months old,” Mitchell said. “It’s become a tradition for us. I especially like the grand finale that happens at the end.”

Mitchell wasn’t disappointed — as local band 120/80 finished their final number in front of the mall, and the National Anthem was sung, a 17-minute display of fireworks using more than 100 different types of pyrotechnic performances was viewed by what Stalnaker estimated could have been as many as 5,000 in the direct and nearby vicinity.

“We don’t have an exact number, but I believe it was somewhere in the range of 4,000 to 5,000 people,” Stalnaker said. “I think that it went very well, and everyone here seemed to have a good time. We did have some problems with the weather earlier when the strong storms came through, forcing some events and mall patrons to be moved inside, but everything was put back together and it all worked out in the end.”

The Milledgeville Mall usually holds a “Family Safety Day/Fourth of July Celebration” on a Saturday as close to July 4 as possible to allow for more of the community to participate and enjoy a fireworks celebration.