Attendees and vendors at Allen USA Celebration on June 27 remembered the rain that interfered with the city’s Fourth of July event the past two years.
Bill Loyd of Allen, who is an Allen USA regular, simply described his experience this year as “way hotter.”

“One year it got rained out,” he said, referring to the event two years ago when the rain kept the headlining band from performing. “This is great.”

With fair skies and the temperature peaking at 100 degrees, the crowd heated up as the sun went down and Smash Mouth, the band behind “All Star,” prepared to go on stage.

Samantha Tarnabine, senior marking specialist at Allen’s Parks & Recreation department, estimates about 55,000 attended.

As a city that has consistently received recognition for its leadership in environmental stewardship, Allen added a green element to its red-white-and-blue event. It joined hands with Community Waste Disposal to present what Tarnabine calls a zero-waste event. This means that with the help of compostable items, recyclable plates, napkins and utensils, 10 percent or less of the waste was trash.

A grand-finale fireworks show topped off the day as event-goers cooled off on the grass and took in the blinding splashes of color across the black canvas.

Allen parks and recreation director Tim Dentler said he believes Allen USA’s fireworks are some of the biggest and the best in North Texas.

“This year is special because of the economic situation in the country, and we feel like we can provide a basically free event,” he said. “It’s a great outlet for families to come out.”

Despite the economic climate of the country and some celebration cancellations, surrounding communities have a lot more in store for the holiday.

Assistant editor Lisa Zimmermann has more on what communities north of Dallas have to offer.

See a video of Smash Mouth guitarist Greg Camp's solo of the national anthem.