A Fourth of July outing at SunWest Park’s Scallop & Music Festival turned tragic when a 3-year-old boy drowned. By the next day, visitors were back on the sand, quietly building a small memorial for the child with flowers and toys.
Local TV's account
According to FOX 13 Tampa Bay, the boy drowned while attending the festival at the waterfront park. Reporter Jennifer Kveglis’ video shows people returning to SunWest Park yesterday, pausing at the shoreline and at the makeshift memorial. The station identified the celebration as Pasco County’s Scallop & Music Festival but did not release the child’s name.
Festival and the site
The Scallop & Music Festival is a multi‑weekend coastal event at SunWest Park in Hudson, with live music, food vendors and a July 4 fireworks show that typically draws big holiday crowds. Event listings from Florida's Sports Coast describe SunWest Park as a busy waterfront property that features a swimming lagoon and family programming during holiday weekends.
Community response and outstanding questions
Footage in FOX 13’s report shows visitors laying flowers, toys and other small items in the sand as they tried to process the loss. Neighbors told the station the atmosphere felt surreal, with the same shoreline that had hosted a festive celebration hours earlier now serving as a site of mourning. The child’s name and further details about exactly how the drowning happened have not been made public.
Why this matters and how to reduce risk
Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury death for children 1 to 4 years old in the United States. Public health guidance highlights multiple layers of protection as key prevention tools, including swim lessons, constant and close adult supervision, and physical barriers around water. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlines these risk factors and prevention strategies in its drowning prevention guidance and urges communities and families to build in several safeguards any time children are near open water.
We will update this story as Pasco County or other authorities release more information.
