Fireworks Aplenty

The official list of top 4th of July events around Dallas-Fort Worth

Fireworks will light up the Dallas-Fort Worth skies between June 30 and July 4.

This year lines up perfectly for fireworks lovers in Dallas-Fort Worth. If you're so inclined, you can see pyrotechnics exploding in the sky for five straight days, as different cities in the area will be holding events every day between June 30 and July 4. We've rounded up the biggest and best ones for your oohing — er, viewing — pleasure.

Saturday, June 30

Market Street Allen USA Celebration
Allen usually gets the jump on the rest of the area by about a week or so, but they'll still be first out of the gate with this event at Celebration Park. There will be live music from Infinite Journey and Emerald City Band, activities like a Ninja Challenge obstacle course and football Combine Challenge, with fireworks set to music to finish the night.

Sunday, July 1

Viridian presents Stars and Stripes Celebration
Red, white, and blue stars will fill the skies when the Stars and Stripes Independence Day Celebration returns to Viridian in Arlington. The event at Lake Viridian includes live music by Shotgun Rider, food, adult-sized inflatables, a giant slide for children’s activities, and fireworks.

Monday, July 2

Concerts in the Garden: Old-Fashioned Family Fireworks Picnic
The combination of fireworks and patriotic music played live by an orchestra is one that can't be beat, and that's what you get at the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra's annual Old-Fashioned Family Fireworks Picnic at Fort Worth Botanic Garden. Luckily, you get not one, not two, but three chances to experience the thrill, as the event takes place each night through July 4.

Tuesday, July 3

Addison Kaboom Town
Every year, half a million guests celebrate at Addison Kaboom Town. The event is citywide, with the main party at Addison Circle Park; watch parties at many of Addison’s restaurants and 23 hotels; and the Addison Airport Air Show, which can be seen from anywhere in town. The 30-minute fireworks show is among the best in the nation, simulcast on 100.3 JACK-FM. Afterwards, while area traffic calms, attendees can stay in Addison Circle Park as Emerald City Band takes the stage to entertain the masses.

Lone Star Park presents Lone Stars & Stripes Fireworks Celebration
The Lone Stars & Stripes Fireworks Celebration at Lone Star Park on July 3 and 4 features live horse racing, live music by Vegas Stars, and an expanded Family Fun Park with bounce houses, face painters, tattoo artists, pony rides, a petting zoo, and more. After the races conclude each night, there will be a world class fireworks show choreographed to music.

Light Up Arlington
Light Up Arlington takes place across downtown Arlington, featuring multiple stages of entertainment, including performances by The Roomsounds and Chris Watson Band. There will also be food trucks, bounce houses, rides, games, and fireworks launched from the Municipal Office Tower and set to music from 95.9 The Ranch.

Red White & Boom on the Bridge
Red White & Boom on the Bridge, presented by the City of Dallas and 98.7 K-LUV, returns for another year. It features live music, family activities, and plenty of great food along the Ronald Kirk Bridge, The Felix Lozada Sr. Gateway, and the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. The evening will end with fireworks over the Dallas skyline.

Wednesday, July 4

Liberty by the Lake
The Colony will present an entire day of family fun at Stewart Creek Park to celebrate the birth of America's freedom. The day includes a fun run, 5K, and 10K, live music, family fun zone, watermelon eating contest, fireworks finale, and much more. The run starts at 7:45 am, with the festival starting at 4 pm.

Dallas Heritage Village presents Old Fashioned Fourth
Not every 4th of July event includes fireworks. At Dallas Heritage Village, kids and families can participate in a variety of fun activities. Kids may decorate their wagons and bikes for a patriotic parade around the village at noon, or they may decorate themselves and march in the parade. There will also be carnival games, musical performances, and a chance for photos with two mammoth jack donkeys, "Nip and Tuck" and "Waylon and Willie."

City of Irving presents Independence Day Celebration
The City of Irving holds an annual two-part celebration of America’s independence each year. A variety of activities will take place throughout the day, including an award-winning parade and community reception at Heritage Park from 9 am-12 pm; an evening festival at Lake Carolyn from 6-10 pm, featuring music by The Argyles; and a fireworks display.

Fort Worth's Fourth
Fort Worth's Fourth is a day of live music and free family activities along the Trinity River. Activities include tubing, bounce houses, face painting, zipline, horseback riding, mini golf, action-packed shows, and live bands on the waterfront stage. The night ends with the largest July 4th ﬁreworks show in North Texas.

Fair Park Fourth
You can get some State Fair of Texas action by attending Fair Park Fourth, where rides, games, and concessions are open along the Midway. Visitors can also take in Fair Park's museums, historic art and architecture, family activities, concerts, and more. It all leads up to the fireworks display once the sun sets, viewable from the Cotton Bowl or anywhere in Fair Park.

Frisco Freedom Fest
Frisco Freedom Fest is composed of a variety of events, including Party in the Plaza at Simpson Plaza; a Children's Expo featuring hamster ball races, multiple zip lines, Euro bungees, a rock climbing wall, and more; Taste of Frisco, showcasing multiple Frisco restaurants; and a fireworks show. FC Dallas is also taking on Atlanta United at Toyota Stadium that night, with fireworks following the match.

Firewheel Town Center presents Star Spangled Spectacular
Firewheel Town Center, in conjunction with the City of Garland, will celebrate the nation’s independence with a full afternoon of family fun during the Star Spangled Spectacular. There will be face-painting, bounce houses, caricature artists, balloon twisters, strolling entertainment, food trucks, and more. 92.1 Hank FM Party Patrol will be onsite, there will be a live performance by Hi Definition, and the event will culminate with a patriotic fireworks display at 9:15 pm.

City of Plano presents All American Fourth
Plano’s All American Fourth Fireworks at Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve features a fireworks show synchronized to music by 97.5 KLAK. Attendees are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy dining from a variety of food trucks on site, as well as pre-fireworks music with a live DJ. The fireworks will start at 9:30 pm.

Castle Hills presents July 4th Freedom Festival
The annual Castle Hills 4th of July Freedom Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary with a day of family-friendly activities, music, food trucks, and a fireworks display. Taking place at Castle Hills Village Shops & Plaza in Lewisville, it will feature Texas’ largest inflatable maze, a giant inflatable obstacle course, 20-foot water slides, train rides, a bubble station, carnival games, and much more.

Denton Kiwanis Club 4th of July Fireworks Show
Since 1972, the Denton Kiwanis Club has presented the 4th of July Fireworks Show. For the seventh year in a row, the event takes place at UNT's Apogee Stadium. Prior to the fireworks, there's a children’s activity area and live entertainment. Fireworks start at 9:30 pm. The event is technically free, but there is a $10 charge to park in the surrounding parking lots, with proceeds benefiting the youth services that the Kiwanis Club supports.

Grapevine presents 36th Annual July 4th Fireworks Extravaganza
The annual 4th of July celebration in Grapevine has a reputation as one of the best fireworks shows around. Multiple viewing points for the show over Lake Grapevine include Acorn Woods Park, Oak Grove Park, Katie's Woods Park, Rockledge Park, and more. The top floor of the Gaylord Texan parking garage will not be available as a viewing point this year.

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Movie Review

Zootopia 2 Disney is an OK sequel that keeps the fun of the original

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Animation Studios

Nick (Jason Bateman) and Judy (Ginnifer Goodwin) in Zootopia 2.

When Zootopia came out in 2016, Walt Disney Animation Studios was in the midst of a great run of original films, including Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen, Big Hero 6, and finally Moana. Their output since then has not been as good, including three mediocre sequels, three so-so originals, and only one truly great film, Encanto.

All of which is to say that the odds for Zootopia 2 breaking that trend were low even before they started working on it. The odd couple pair of rabbit Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) are now officially detectives in the Zootopia Police Department, but they still have a penchant for not following the orders of Chief Bogo (Idris Elba). Such mischievous behavior doesn’t sit well with the other detective teams, which include pairs of zebras, hippos, hogs, and goats.

Still, their slightly insubordinate ways put them on the path toward discovering the infiltration of Gary De’Snake (Ke Huy Quan), the first reptile to be seen in Zootopia in a long time. He’s trying to steal a book that would prove that his relative was the rightful inventor of a weather technology that gives all animals in Zootopia an ideal climate. But the high-powered Lynxley family, including father Milton (David Straithairn) and son Pawbert (Andy Samberg), lay claim to the idea and won’t give it up easily.

Written and directed by Jared Bush, and co-directed by Byron Howard, the film retains the fun of the first film if not the consistently interesting story. Though Judy and Nick get along much better than they did previously, they still don’t see eye-to-eye on everything. It’s Judy who takes more risks this time around, with Nick’s rule-breaking ways seeming to have rubbed off on her, a nice twist that leads to some ironic situations.

The filmmakers struggle to make the story as easily coherent this time around, with the new characters a decidedly mixed bunch. The Lynxleys are supposed to be the bad guys of the film, but they’re not featured enough to drum up any enmity for them. The detective duos are fun comic relief, especially the two who refer to themselves as the Ze-bros, but none of them factor very much in the actual story.

Instead, the filmmakers fall back on things like cameos from small characters from the first film and a flurry of groan-worthy animal puns. While it’s fun to see the sloth Flash (Raymond S. Persi), sheep Bellwether (Jenny Slate), and Gazelle (Shakira), their appearances are too brief to carry the movie overall. The visuals are as fantastic as expected of Disney films, especially the myriad fur/hides/scales of the different creatures, but the film is not designed to necessarily wow in that respect.

Both Goodwin and Bateman prove again that they were cast perfectly for their respective roles, as Goodwin fully embodies Judy’s relentless enthusiasm and Bateman brings the wry tone to his street smart character. If you know them, it’s fun to have people like Samberg, Straithairn, Quinta Brunson, and Patrick Warburton in supporting roles, but no one but Warburton and his distinctive voice elevates the film.

Like most of Disney’s recent sequels, Zootopia 2 is a pleasant enough movie that lets fans revisit some favorite characters. But when a bar is set high with the first film as it was with Zootopia, it takes more outside-of-the-box thinking to have the second one measure up in any significant way.

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Zootopia 2 opens in theaters on November 26.

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