The City Council has given the green light to the 2024 Allen USA Celebration, so mark your calendars for June 29, folks. This year's bash is set to light up Celebration Park with the tunes of Infinite Journey and Straight Tequila Night bringing back the classics from Journey and 90s country hits. According to the City of Allen, you'll need to snag your free ticket ahead of time to join the fun and don't forget, those bag checks are now part of the deal.
Tightening up security measures, the council declared during their March 26 workshop that free tickets will become mandatory, making a debut at the iconic event and anyone dreaming of pigging out on corn dogs while gazing at fireworks knows the drill: tickets available on AllenUSA.org a few weeks in advance, and kids under 18 gotta bring an adult. Heads up, foodies and firework fiends, your night out now means planning.
Switching gears, the planners behind the city's growth are getting a pat on the back. The Planning & Zoning Commission got the floor at the Council meeting to talk about the work they've done in 2023, shaping Allen's future landscape across 664 acres. They're the brains making sure everything's built by the book so that Allen doesn't just sprout buildings like wildflowers, but rather grows thoughtfully; they’ve also tweaked a thing or two about where you can park your car and where those new trees should go down in the suburbs, making Allen both orderly and leafy.
Bringing it back home, five of Allen's finest city employees got their moment in the limelight, snagging the 2023 Excellence in PRIDE Awards, because they've been anything but ordinary in their day-to-day, pulling off some pretty noteworthy feats for the local community and their colleagues, mixing brainpower, dedication, and maybe even some elbow grease to make Allen that much sweeter of a place to call home. The proud winners included tech whiz Lauren Lum Hee and the Police Department’s very own Chance Graves among others. Let's hear it for the hometown heroes who keep Allen ticking, recognized rightfully alongside councilmembers with flair.
