The Celebrate Saint Louis festival returned to downtown St. Louis, featuring music, food, and fireworks displays. The event began on Thursday beneath the Gateway Arch and concluded with a final night of activities yesterday. Tim Meers, the Celebrate Saint Louis chairman, encapsulated the event's importance, recalling his own childhood memories and stating, "People like myself who grew up coming down to this event when I was a child with my grandparents and then now, you know, doing it as an adult, it's just it's part of the fabric of St. Louis. You don't think about 4th of July in St. Louis without this great event,” he told KSDK.
Despite a simple celebration of America's independence, the event drew a diverse crowd, with some traveling from Kansas, Louisiana and as far as South America. One mother brought her two-year-old downtown, continuing a family tradition since she was just a toddler herself. Another man, celebrating the merging of cultures that the holiday represents to him, said, “It’s the reason the way America is, it’s a melting pot of different cultures coming together and becoming an independent nation and I think that’s the beauty of where were at today,” according to a FirstAlert4 interview.
The celebration concluded with a scheduled fireworks display at 9:40 p.m. last night, lighting up the sky as part of the planned festivities. In anticipation of large crowds, additional patrols were deployed to maintain safety throughout the event.
FOX 2 reports that organizers are already planning next year’s event, with the intention of hosting another Independence Day celebration in St. Louis.
