By STEVE BOERIGTER, Chair

Folks, we outdid ourselves! The 2017 4th of July Celebration at Overlook Park was the best attended yet.

The hot sunny skies gave way to some clouds and respite from the heat. All who entered the park on Meadow Lane were greeted by the Fire Departments huge flag. It’s a great reminder that we really do live in a special place.

While the dedication of the fireworks team in Kiwanis might be obvious, much of the community is behind the event long before the first BBQ, football toss, or glowstick. We would like to thank our major sponsor, Los Alamos National Bank. LANB has been a major partner with the Kiwanis Club for more than two decades.

Thank you to Franks Supply for donating the quiet and powerful generator that kept the Bouncy Toys going all day. We appreciate all our vendors for keeping the crowd nourished and refreshed. Next time you see them at Ashley Pond remember to say “thanks”.

A special thank you goes to the Los Alamos Holiday Inn Express for supplying lodging for the Ton-O-Fun crew. The Community Winds gave us classic Independence Day music.

We think we might have stuffed 8,000+ people into Overlook Park. That wouldn’t happen without the major efforts from the Los Alamos County and Public Safety. The County Traffic Division kept everyone moving better than ever before and Atomic City Transit got us in and out of the park with ease.

Super special thanks to the Overlook Park team. Los Alamos Police was able to help many and the Fire Department once again showed off the biggest flag ever seen in Northern New Mexico.

Finally, thank you all the dedicated Kiwanians for your time and energy. You continually demonstrate your dedication to the people of Los Alamos and the community of Northern New Mexico. You make this event possible.

The biggest thanks of all goes to you – the community. You make this a wonderful place to live. You help keep this and many other events going through your donations. You make it fun to get together and just celebrate life in America.

The Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos hopes you will make plans now to be at Overlook next year. We’ll have a fantastic fireworks display. But we know that’s not why we celebrate the 4th of July. We live in America – and that’s worth celebrating.