It Looks Like Lubbock Will Head Out Of Town For 4th Of July

I really didn't think too much about the impact of 4th On Broadway being shuttered.

The Beginning
The non-profit who ran 4th On Broadway said they will not produce this years festival, in effect, killing the event. It was really no big deal to me, having spent many, many 4th Of July's sweating in, and producing one of the music tents. These events ground me down so much that I really haven't been back since (no hard feelings, just got my fill). What I didn't consider was the community fireworks event.

What's Around?

All of this hit me when I saw a Facebook Event for Wolforth's "4th On The 5th". If you didn't know, the town has put on a fireworks display, presumably on the 5th, to avoid competing with the Lubbock events. Then there's the events out at Buffalo Springs Lake, which usually happen on the 3rd. I guess time will tell if any of these will move to the 4th, but that's beside the point.

Big City And No Show

The actual point is, apparently we're now a town without a fireworks display. I'm going to go ahead and say it, that feels downright unpatriotic. Are we really going to go from having one of the largest free festivals in the U.S. to having nothing?  I can tell you right now, that's a bad idea.

Repercussions

Each year my neighborhood is a war zone of fireworks. I'm not kidding, it's pure insanity. Now, imagine all those people that usually go to 4th On Broadway staying home and adding to the mess with their own displays. Things could get out of control pretty quick. So a. Lubbock not having a city display is kind of embarrassing, and b. it's also kind of dangerous.

The Problem

The people who should be focusing on quality of life issues in the Hub City tend to farm those responsibilities out, and now we have no one (at least not yet) to pick up the slack. It's going to be a crazy 4th Of July in the Hub City.

Note: Since publication Everything Lubbock has reported that there will be some kind of celebration hosted by the City.