The annual Twin City Firecracker Festival made a solid comeback last weekend.
After being canceled in 2020 and largely rained out in 2021, this year’s festival – the 33rd – drew near-record crowds to Larry G. Crites Memorial Park in Festus, said Barb Lowry, the city’s recreation and tourism director.
“Except for the sweltering heat Saturday afternoon, it was a fantastic weekend,” said Lowry, who co-chaired the event along with Festus Parks Director Josh Whaley.
The event ran from 4 p.m. to midnight June 24 and all day June 25, and Lowry estimated the crowd at close to 12,000 over the two days.
“We had people standing in line for every food vendor; the field was full of people waiting to hear the band,” Lowry said. “Detective Sgt. Lewis Pippin said we came very close to running out of parking spaces. There were people tailgating out in the back field.
“I just talked with Tinsley Amusements, who does the carnival stuff, and they said this is the second-highest gross since they’ve been with us. And they’ve been with us a long time.”
The weather led to a few changes in the festival schedule.
The Johnathan Braddy Band was slated to take the stage from 6-10 p.m. June 24 and ended up going on an hour later.
“We made the decision to push the band to 7 p.m. instead of 6 to try to beat that heat,” Lowry said. “They eliminated one of their breaks, so we had the same playing time. And it was a good decision; at 6, no one was around. But, by 7, the sun was starting to go down and people started to come out. And they just kept coming!”
On June 25, three bands hit the stage: Streamline and 90 Proof Acoustic during the day and Johnny Rock-ITT and the Double Wide Symphony in the evening.
The heat held off long enough on June 25 for the kids’ and seniors’ fishing derbies to comfortably take place at Al Brown Lake.
For the first time this year, beer sales were handled from a tent where IDs were checked and patrons given a wristband once cleared for purchase.
“The Crites family runs the tent for us, and Laura Crites Dutton said things went really smoothly,” Lowry said. “She was really happy with it, and she said she’s looking forward to using the system next year.”
Missing this year was the traditional car show, and Lowry said there are regrets about that.
“I always enjoyed it, when I had a minute free, going to see the cars,” she said. “But we just don’t have anyone to run it. So if there’s someone out there who has an interest in cars and some knowledge, we’d love to hear from them. It’s a volunteer position, of course, and it takes a lot of time and legwork, so they need to know what they’re getting into. But if they have any interest, we’d love to talk to them.”
The festival closed with a fireworks display on June 25.
Lowry said organizers liked the single fireworks show, rather than having it both nights as in previous years, and they are looking to slot something new in the spot where the first-night fireworks used to go.
“We are working on something for next year for Friday night,” she said. “It would be very neat, and we’re excited about it, but we have to see if we can get the logistics worked out before we really say anything.”
Lowry said kudos are in order for all those who helped make the festival a success.
“It was a fantastic weekend, but it was a lot of hard work,” she said. “I just can’t say enough about our parks department and the public works employees from both Festus and Crystal City. We had members of both police departments, and JPAD (Joachim-Plattin Ambulance District) was there. Our fire department borrowed a cooling tent from a completely different department and set it up. We had all our vendors who come year after year and are so easy to work with.
“It absolutely takes a team to make something like this happen.”
Next up on the local tourism agenda is the Blues and Funk Fest set for Saturday, July 23, at Crites Park. The free event will feature Dr. Zhivegas, one of St. Louis’ top cover bands.
“We’ll have the band from 6-10 p.m.,” Lowry said. “The techno bubble bus will be there from 7-10 p.m. and we’ll have a bunch of food trucks and dessert trucks all afternoon and evening as well as a beer tent.”
For more information about this or any upcoming events, call the Festus tourism office at 636-524-7022 or check out the city’s website at cityoffestus.org and click on “recreation and tourism.”