Fireworks Galore

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

No matter where you go in Dallas-Fort Worth over the Fourth of July weekend, you'll find fireworks galore.

Photo courtesy of Town of Addison

Celebrating the Fourth of July around Dallas-Fort Worth is easy, as the wealth of celebrations big and small leads to an embarrassment of riches when it comes to event choices. We've rounded up the biggest and best ones for your oohing — er, viewing — pleasure.

Saturday, July 2

Concerts in the Garden: Old-Fashioned Family Fireworks Picnic
The combination of fireworks and patriotic live music played 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.

Sunday, July 3

Kaboom Town
Addison’s most explosive party of the year, Kaboom Town! features dazzling fireworks choreographed to music, plus food, Cavanaugh Flight Museum’s historic warbird flyovers, bands, and more. The celebration is city-wide, with a party in Addison Circle Park and watch parties at many of Addison’s 180-plus restaurants and 22 hotels. The 30-minute-long fireworks show is among the best in the nation, and is simulcast on 100.3 JACK-FM. Afterwards, while area traffic calms, attendees are invited to remain in Addison Circle Park for a concert by the Party Machine.

Lone Star Park presents Lone Stars & Stripes Fireworks Celebration
The annual Lone Stars & Stripes Fireworks Celebration at Lone Star Park features two nights of spectacular fireworks, on July 3 and 4. Kids can enjoy the Family Fun Park featuring pony rides, a petting zoo, obstacle course, zip line, bounce houses, face painters, tattoo artists, and much more. Music lovers can enjoy live music by Vegas Stars between the races. Following the last race each night is a spectacular, 20-minute firework display choreographed to music.

Monday, July 4

Fair Park Fourth
Celebrate America with a day of family fun in Fair Park at the City of Dallas' official Independence Day celebration. The event features free fireworks sponsored by Oncor, with the best seating in the Cotton Bowl, although the show is visible from around Fair Park. The Midway is going to be open, and Dallas Winds is performing a free concert.

Firewheel Town Center Star Spangled Spectacular
Firewheel Town Center, in conjunction with the City of Garland, celebrates our nation’s independence with a full afternoon of family fun during Star Spangled Spectacular. Families enjoy face-painting, bounce houses, games, and Food Truck Alley. Additionally, 92.1 Hank FM Party Patrol will be onsite with games, live music, and even more fun. The event culminates with a patriotic fireworks display at 9:15 pm.

Fort Worth's Fourth
Fort Worth’s Fourth is a free family event at Panther Island Pavilion that includes activities such as zip lines, bounce houses, water slides, and more. There's also live music, tubing, and the biggest fireworks show in North Texas. Aquafly flyboard shows feature riders performing tricks on what can only be described as water-fueled jetpacks. These high-flying daredevils are guaranteed to make the audience’s hearts stop with stunts only seen in the movies.

Denton Kiwanis Club Fireworks Show
Viewing fireworks from inside a stadium is always a bonus, because it comes with built-in seats. Dentonites don't have to travel to the Cotton Bowl for that privilege, as the Denton Kiwanis Club once again is putting on a great, free display at UNT's Apogee Stadium, preceded by a performance by Raised Right Men.

July 4th Fireworks Extravaganza at Lake Grapevine
With lake levels back to normal, you can go back to enjoying the fireworks show at Lake Grapevine at any of the lakeside parks. The event officially takes place at Oak Grove Park, and the 26-minute show is set to patriotic music that can be downloaded at www.GrapevineTexasUSA.com/Summer.

Plano's All-American Fourth Fireworks Show
At Plano's annual Fourth of July celebration at Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve, you can grab a bite to eat at food trucks stationed at the nearby Collin College and enjoy music pumped out by a DJ before settling down to take in a fireworks display that rivals any of the others around the area. Make sure to bring a blanket or lawn chair to be comfortable on the grass, and then tune in to 97.5 KLAK for a simulcast of music to which the show is choreographed.

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Movie Review

Eye-popping I Love Boosters takes aim at fashion and social issues

Photo courtesy of Neon

Naomi Ackie, Keke Palmer, Poppy Liu, and Taylour Paige in I Love Boosters.

Boots Riley’s first feature film, 2018’s Sorry to Bother You, was an auspicious and audacious debut that challenged viewers both with its subject matter and the visuals it contained. Even though it took eight years for him to put out his second film, Riley hasn’t lost his knack for outrageousness in the almost inexplicable I Love Boosters.

At its core, the movie is about three women - Corvette (Keke Palmer), Mariah (Taylour Paige), and Sade (Naomi Ackie) - who survive in the world by boosting (aka stealing) high-end fashion and reselling it for more affordable prices. In the surreal world in which the film takes place, their primary target is Metro Designers, a shop that deals in monochromatic clothes and is led by the eccentric CEO Christie Smith (Demi Moore).

The women’s felonious-but-low-stakes mission is up-ended by the appearance of Jianhu (Poppy Liu), who possesses a machine that shoplifts much better than they ever could. The only difference is that Jianhu is looking to expose the shoddy working conditions in the Chinese factories where Metro Designers’ clothes are made. Inspired, the women join forces on a quest that is as bizarre as it is righteous.

Riley, who both wrote and directed the film, loves his over-the-top visuals. There are eye-popping elements in almost every scene of the film, from the clothes in the Metro Designers stores to the oddly-slanted floors of Smith’s office to the bold masks worn by the group during one heist. Every weird thing on screen serves a purpose, though, even the transformation of Pinky Ring Guy (LaKeith Stanfield) from an object of Corvette’s desire into a soul-sucker with an unusual method.

While not quite as pointed as Sorry to Bother You, which had Black characters affecting “white” voices to be more appealing to the general public, the film does take aim at a variety of different social issues. The idea of wealth inequality is front-and-center, with Corvette and her friends forced to squat in an abandoned restaurant. The treatment of Chinese factory workers, fashion industry practices and excesses, and more crop up over the course of the film.

The latter half of the film gets crazier, if that’s even possible. Jianhu’s machine introduces sci-fi elements into the story, with the same circular contraption able to transport, disintegrate, and transform objects or people. Combined with the visuals and storyline, the film becomes something that is both wildly entertaining and also somewhat incomprehensible.

While the movie has a large cast, Palmer is inarguably the star. With her effervescent acting style and an overall inviting demeanor, she sells every bonkers turn the film takes. Each of the supporting actors gets a moment to shine, but Paige, Ackie, and Moore have the most impact. Stanfield is memorable in a creepy kind of way, but he’s been better in other films.

I Love Boosters is one of the more outlandish and interesting films to come out in 2026, a long-awaited return from Riley that demonstrates his strong storytelling and filmmaking voice. Even if it’s not clear exactly what’s happening at every turn, the acting and the audacity of the visuals keeps the film extremely watchable.

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I Love Boosters is now playing in theaters.

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