Star-Spangled Celebrations

Official list of 4th of July events and fireworks around Dallas in 2024

Fourth of July events will be taking place all around the Dallas area.

Photo courtesy of Fair Park

When it comes to Independence Day events in the Dallas area, our cup runneth over in a big way. Whether it's Dallas proper or the surrounding suburbs, almost every city in the area will hold some kind of event in the days leading up to July 4 or on the day itself.

Below is as close to a comprehensive list as there is on 4th of July-themed events happening in the Dallas area in 2024; for a list of Fort Worth-area events, click here.

Saturday, June 29

4th of July Weekend in Denton
Like a bunch of other cities, the festivities will get started early in Denton as they present the Liberty Run 5k and 1-mile walk, followed by the Yankee Doodle Parade on July 29 near Denton Civic Enter. That will be followed by the July Jubilee at Quakertown Park & Denton Civic Center on July 3, featuring live music, food, inflatables, games, rock climbing, face painting, photo opportunities, a hot dog eating contest, and drone shows sponsored by Denton Noon Kiwanis.

City of Arlington presents Light Up Arlington
Arlington's big event, Light Up Arlington, will take place early this year, featuring live music on four stages around Downtown Arlington, vendors, food trucks, kids activities, and a fireworks display shot from the roof of City Tower, which is located east of City Hall. The show will be set to music on 95.9 The Ranch FM.

Ennis Freedom Fest
The City of Ennis' annual Freedom Fest will feature free kids activities, food, and more. The fireworks show, powered by Pyrotecnico, begins at dark, but visitors must be in Veterans Memorial Park to see it. Earlier in the day will be the Red, White and Bike Parade, where residents can deck out their bike, scooter, wagon, etc. and join in for a parade through downtown Ennis and the historic tree-lined neighborhoods.

Market Street Allen USA
Market Street Allen USA is a summer party featuring music from Straight Tequila Night and Infinite Journey, food trucks, a skydiving show, and one of the best fireworks shows in Dallas-Fort Worth. It takes place in Celebration Park in Allen.

Klyde Warren Park presents Independence Day Celebration
Klyde Warren Park's Independence Day Celebration will feature summer treats from a variety of food trucks, live patriotic music, family-fun games, and a pyrotechnic display for the grand finale.

Wednesday, July 3

Lone Star Park presents Lone Stars & Stripes Celebration
Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie will celebrate America with live racing, live music on the Courtyard of Champions Stage from 3-9 pm, featuring The Mullet Boyz; family activities like a petting zoo, pony rides, face painters, airbrush tattoo artists, inflatable slides, obstacle course, and games. After the last race, there will be 20-minutes fireworks show, choreographed to music. The event takes place on both July 3 and 4.

City of Garland presents Red, White & You
Replacing Firewheel Town Center's Star-Spangled Spectacular event, Red, White & You is a new Independence Day celebration from the City of Garland, featuring live music by Randall King and Jon Stork, food, games, vendors, and a drone show. It will take place at Garland City Square.

Addison Kaboom Town!
The official watch party for Addison Kaboom Town! at Addison Circle Park will feature food and drink vendors, musical entertainment, and family-friendly activities. As a townwide celebration, the festivities extend beyond the park with watch parties hosted by many of the Town’s 200 restaurants. As always, the fireworks show will be preceded by the Addison Airport Air Show, an aerial spectacle that can be seen from miles away. The show will begin at 7:30 pm, two hours prior to the fireworks show.

Frisco Freedom Fest
Frisco Freedom Fest will be a two-day event, starting on July 3 with the Party in the USA 5K, the Dachshund Dash, and the annual Cornhole Tournament. It continues on July 4 with live music, a car show, kids activities & entertainment, a Texas Ice Cream Festival, and a 20-minute fireworks show. All events take place in and around Frisco Square.

The Sound at Cypress Waters presents Sensory Sensitive 4th of July Celebration
The Sound at Cypress Waters' annual Sensory Sensitive Fourth of July Celebration is an Independence Day event that provides a fun and safe alternative to people and pets who deal with noise sensitivity. Traditional fireworks will be replaced with the Star Spangle Glow, an innovative show that provides attendees with LED bracelets that synchronize to create an immersive light display. The event will include a concert by Lover, A Tribute to Taylor Swift, animal education from Creature Teacher, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Petting Zoo, Disc Dog Demonstrations on the lawn, face painting, and more.

City of Irving presents Sparks & Stripes
Sparks & Stripes, the City of Irving's annual Independence Day celebration, will be a two-day event, featuring live music, fireworks, and more at Levy Event Plaza on July 3. It will be followed by a morning parade throughout the Irving's Heritage District on July 4.

City of Carrollton presents Independence Day Fireworks Show
The City of Carrollton will present a 15-minute fireworks show over Josey Ranch Lake. Residents are encouraged to view the fireworks show from surrounding neighborhoods or from one of the available parking areas. There will be no on-site event; however, viewing from the grassy area around the site is allowed.

Thursday, July 4

Arlington Independence Day Parade
While the city of Arlington will hold their evening event on June 29 (see above), they'll wait until the actual 4th of July for their Independence Day Parade, the oldest event in Arlington and one of the largest 4th of July parades in Texas. The parade, which features 120 entries, steps off at the intersection of West St. and Mitchell St., traveling around downtown Arlington.

City of McKinney presents Red, White, and BOOM!
The City of McKinney celebrates the Fourth of July at Red, White and BOOM!, a daylong event. At 10 am is the Hometown Parade in Downtown McKinney, followed by the Yankee Doodle Block Party from 11 am-2 pm. From 5-10 pm, festivities at Gabe Nesbitt Community Park include music by The Rich Girls and Aura, food, kids’ activities, and a fireworks display.

Dallas Winds presents "Star-Spangled Spectacular"
Dallas Winds' annual "Star-Spangled Spectacular" is a red, white, and blue musical salute to mom, apple pie and the American way, Dallas Winds style. The concert at Meyerson Symphony Center will feature favorite patriotic songs, hot dogs, ice cream, and indoor fireworks.

Plano Symphony Orchestra presents "Patriotic Pops"
The Plano Symphony Orchestra will present their annual “Patriotic Pops,” which includes a tribute to all the branches of the armed forces, guest vocalist Steve Amerson, and the Patriotic Pops chorus. Led by conductor Héctor Guzmán, the concert will include patriotic music like traditional favorites “The Star-Spangled Banner,” “America the Beautiful,” and “God Bless America,” plus the moving “Salute to the Armed Forces.” The concert takes place at Eisemann Center for Performing Arts in Richardson.

Fair Park Fourth
The biggest event in the Dallas city limits, Fair Park Fourth will feature hands-on activities for kids, live music, photo opportunities, food trucks, and other concession offerings. As the sun sets, a spectacular firework show will light the sky. Guests can experience the show inside the iconic Cotton Bowl Stadium or across Fair Park.

City of Rowlett presents Fireworks on Main
The City of Rowlett's Fireworks on Main will feature a dazzling fireworks display, performances by Turnpike Tributedours and Emerald City Band, a children's area, food trucks, and more. The event will take place at Pecan Grove Park.

Monument Realty PGA District presents Fireworks on the Fairway
Fireworks on the Fairway will feature a fireworks and drone show at the Monument Realty PGA District on the Omni PGA Frisco Resort Campus in Frisco. The evening begins with a concert by party band Downtown Fever. The team behind the Guinness World Record-holding Sky Elements will host a drone show featuring 300 independently programmed drones in the sky over Fields Ranch. The fireworks show by PyroShows of Texas will end the night.

The City of Plano presents All American 4th
At Plano’s All American 4th, visitors can enjoy free games and a fireworks show. Vendors will have food and beverages available for purchase. The event will take place at the Collin College Plano Campus, across the street from the fireworks launch area at Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve.

The Colony Parks & Recreation Department presents Liberty by the Lake
The 26th annual Liberty by the Lake kicks off with the Liberty 5K, 10K & Mile Fun Run at Stewart Creek Park. That will be followed by the Independence Day Parade, which goes from Peters Colony Elementary to The Colony High School parking lot. Later in the day, visitors can make their way over to The Colony Five Star Complex for an event featuring games, a watermelon eating contest, rides, food, live music, and more. The night will end with a fireworks show set to patriotic music.

Little Elm presents July Jubilee
Due to extensive flooding at Little Elm Park, July Jubilee, Little Elm's annual Fourth of July event, will not have a festival component in 2024. However, there will still be two fireworks show - one at Little Elm Park, and the other at Little Elm High School. Portions of the park will be available for parking and foot traffic.

Grapevine presents July 4th Fireworks Extravaganza
The City of Grapevine will celebrate America’s birthday with their annual July 4th Fireworks Extravaganza, featuring spectacular fireworks set to patriotic music. Due to high lake levels, the fireworks will be set off at a different location, at the corner of Highway 26 and Texan Trail near Great Wolf Lodge. Viewing locations include the Great Wolf Lodge parking lot and several others.

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Vinyl Record News

Dallas record store chain Josey Records spins new location in Garland

Josey Records

Vinyl at Josey Records

Dallas music maker Josey Records has extended its reach east: The record store chain, whose empire includes one of the largest single independent record stores in the U.S., has opened a location in Garland, at 1005 Northwest Hwy., at the intersection of Centerville Road, where it's selling its trademark assortment of vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, turntables, music posters, new releases, and music accessories.

This is the sixth location and the third in the Dallas area, joining the original in Farmers Branch which owners Waric Cameron and Luke Sardello opened in November 2014. They've since opened locations in Plano, Tulsa, Kansas City, and Vidalia, Missouri.

The original location is a giant place with 16,000 square feet devoted to vinyl, 45s, CDs, turntables, and T-shirts. They do a good job showcasing new releases and collector vinyl — they made CultureMap's list of 5 best places in Dallas to buy vinyl records — and are known to host album release and listening parties such as a recent blockbuster celebrating Linkin Park.

They made headlines in June 2020 when they acquired the vast musical inventory of Bill’s Records following the death of owner Bill Wisener; Cameron and Sardello both worked at Bill’s, and knew the sprawling collection first-hand.

"It has taken us years to even start going through it, but in last two years, we've made some headway," Cameron says. "Bill's has its own audience, so we created a specific Instagram account, just for Bill's Records merchandise called @billsrecordsvault."

They chose Garland because they saw it as an area that was under-served.

"There are very few record stores in that area of northeast Dallas, Casa View, Garland, Rockwall, Mesquite," Cameron says. "We have customers who live over there, so it seemed like a good place for a store."

The storefront they're in was most recently The Music Store, which sold and rented musical instruments and accessories; but coincidentally, it's next to an address that was once RPM Records, a hip record store from the '90s.

The Garland store follows the same model as their others: selling new and used records and merchandise, and buying used goods, as well.

"One thing that's cool is that each location takes on its own identity," he says. "We buy used CDs, vinyl records, cassettes — we're a used resale business — and what we buy from our customers dictates what that store becomes. For example, our Plano store has a lot of classic rock. So we're looking forward to seeing what Garland gravitates to."

Garland does have one thing that the other locations do not.

"Right now, Garland has this incredible collection of jazz," Cameron says. "We bought a great collection of jazz records — someone called and wanted to sell it. We get that a lot, we buy major collections from all over the U.S., we even make house calls. So we saved it for the Garland store."