People all around the country are getting the holiday weekend started with a bang.

Many cities held their fireworks displays Friday night instead of on the fourth, including Garner.

Fireworks lit up the night sky with a heavy dose of reds, whites and blues for more than half an hour.

"I like the blue ones," said Kareem Alhertani. "Blue is my favorite color."

It's a spectacle that some 20,000 people came out to Lake Benson Park to see up close -- and that doesn't even count the folks watching from backyard bar-b-ques all over town.

The display capped off what has turned into a major event for Garner.

Hundreds of kids spent the afternoon swarming over a carnival-style play area, while the rest of the crowd sat back and listened to music ranging from classic soul hits by Johnny White and the Elite Band, to patriotic standards by the North Carolina Symphony.

"They come from all over because the communities they live in don't have anything that will rival this," said a proud Mayor Ronnie Williams.

And then of course, there was the food; thousands of picnic blankets covered the grass with all sorts of options.

"Mom and apple pie. You can't beat that," said one woman. "Baked it myself."

"We've seen some hot dogs and chicken over there. We brought sub sandwiches," said Ed Walaski. "If you look around people bring pizza; all kinds of stuff."

The celebration cost Garner about $50,000, but organizers say they're proud of the fact that they can keep it going without ever considering charging folks for it.

_______
Keep up with the stories Chris Cowperthwaite is working on every day: http://twitter.com/CCowperthwaite.