Enjoy Free Fireworks, Live Music and Family-Friendly Fun at Light Up Arlington and Arlington Independence Day Parade

By Susan Schrock, Office of Communication

Posted on June 04, 2024, June 04, 2024

Independence Day celebrations in Arlington will kick off a little earlier this year, with Light Up Arlington set for Saturday, June 29, 2024.

As part of its Centennial celebration, Arlington Parks and Recreation is working with event vendors and Downtown businesses to add extra flare to the 16th annual Light Up Arlington. The City’s free fireworks display and family friendly celebration typically draws tens of thousands of visitors Downtown.

This year's event, which encompasses 64 acres surrounding City Hall and the George W. Hawkes Downtown Library, will include some of the top musical acts in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, vendors, food trucks and plenty of kid-friendly fun. Bands will perform at four stages around Downtown, starting with 6 p.m. concerts outside the Arlington Music Hall and Grease Monkey, a 6:30 p.m. concert outside of City Tower at 101 S. Mesquite St. and a 7 p.m. concert at Levitt Pavilion Arlington. The Levitt concert starts with Kiara Mullins & Crash Through The Floor, followed at 8:30 p.m. by Donovan Keith, an Austin-based, SXSW alum known for high-energy R&B/soul performances.

The bubble bus and face painting will be returning for the little ones at the Downtown Library. Vendors and food trucks, featuring a variety of food and desserts, will be located in the Downtown Arlington area. Inside the Downtown Library, the Imagination Playground and a 4th of July activity will be available from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the reBrary rooms and an Independence Day-themed scavenger hunt will be available from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Children’s Area.

The Children's Entrepreneur Market will return to this year's festivities. Through this market, kids gain real-world experience in creating goods, packaging them for sale, attracting customers and handling money.

The fireworks display, which lasts about 20 minutes, is scheduled to start at 9:50 p.m. and will be set to music on 95.9 The Ranch FM. Fireworks will be shot from the roof of City Tower, which is located east of City Hall.

This year’s event is sponsored by Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital, Rough Rider’s Restoration & General Contracting, Hiley Mazda & Volkswagen, Downtown Arlington, First Baptist Arlington, J. Gilligan’s, Levitt Pavilion Arlington, Urban Union, East Main District, 92.1 Hank FM, 95.9 The Ranch FM, Wing, and Sutton Frost Cary LLP.

Click here to visit the Light Up Arlington webpage for updates.

59th Annual Arlington Independence Day Parade

The Arlington Independence Day Parade, a privately organized event, will be held in Downtown on Thursday, July 4. The theme for this year’s parade, which begins at 9 a.m., is “Home Run for Heroes.”

The Arlington Independence Day Parade started in 1965 and is billed as the oldest, longest running event in the city.

Be sure to arrive early for the parade, which kicks off at 9 a.m. Each year, tens of thousands of people line the streets to watch the colorful floats, antique cars, marching bands and other parade entries wind through Downtown. Visit the Parade website for updates.

The parade will be preceded by the 2nd annual Firecracker 5k at 7 a.m., a certified event that is expected to draw several hundred participants to Downtown. The parade will also feature the Independence Day Parade Mascot, Sparky.

The parade will be broadcast live July 4th on Spectrum channel 16 and 15.1 digital, AT&T U-verse channel 99 as well as on arlingtontx.gov/broadcast.

Light Up Arlington Tips

• Free public parking is available throughout Downtown, but visitors need to be aware of some planned parking lot closures and street closures around City Hall, 101 Center and the City Tower. Some streets will close for Light Up Arlington festivities as early as 3 p.m. Saturday, June 29.
• Download the Waze app for updated road closures and driving directions.
• Access to and from the 101 Center Parking Garage and parking spots immediately surrounding the building will be strictly prohibited beginning at 5 p.m. until approximately 11 p.m. Any vehicles in the parking garage or in the parking spots surrounding the building will not be allowed to leave once the event has started.
• All vehicles must be removed from the City Tower parking lot by 5 p.m. Friday, June 28. All vehicles left in the lot after 5 p.m. will be towed to the northeast corner of the lot and access to those vehicles will be denied until the firework display is over and the lot has been reopened to the public at approximately 1 a.m. June 30.
• The City Hall parking lot at Pecan and Abram streets will be closed on Saturday, June 29. All vehicles must be removed from this lot by 5 p.m. that day to make way for Light Up Arlington activities.
• Look for signage with QR codes during Light Up Arlington for the latest information about events and activities.