By Laurel O’Brien
Texas Metro News Intern
Fort Worth has again set out to prove that everything is bigger in Texas.
For the seventeenth year, organizers of Fort Worth’s Fourth expect to welcome thousands of people to the city’s annual Independence Day event.
The festival, evening-long concert and party is North Texas’ largest Independence Day celebration, according to the City of Fort Worth’s billing. The event is organized by the Tarrant Regional Water District as part of its community programming.
Fort Worth’s Fourth is free and open to the public. Parking lots open at 3 p.m. and gates open at 5 p.m., Thursday, July 4, at Panther Island Pavilion on the banks of the Trinity River.
This year, Fort Worth’s Fourth will include a range of children’s attractions, from face painting to inflatable slides. Tubing and floating will be from 5 to 8 p.m. on the river. Attendees must bring their own water tubes.
The event will feature live performances from Chattahoochee Music and Poo Live Crew; a roped swim area, water slides, and more, organizers announced this week on the festival’s official Facebook page.
Attendees may join the jubilation from anywhere along the Trinity River.
An array of local food and beverage vendors will sell snow cones, street tacos, turkey legs, roasted corn, crawfish, funnel cakes, hot dogs, hamburgers, and beer and wine, according to the festival’s official website, FortWorthsFourth.com
Thursday’s main attraction, the fireworks show, begin after sundown at 9:30 p.m.
Expect the night to be illuminated with a riveting visual display of fireworks.
From 9:30 to 10 p.m., Fort Worth’s Fourth will put on a visual show that visitors have come to anticipate and enjoy: a gigantic red and white fireworks display set against a deep-blue night sky, synchronized to historic and patriotic music.
Attendees may bring chairs and blankets to the 29-minute show, event planners said.
Public parking is $20. For information on parking sites, Trinity Metro’s ride services, and suggestions on managing traffic, check out https://fortworthsfourth.com/