HOLTS SUMMIT - More than 15,000 people went to Greenway Park for the annual Holts Summit Fireworks Festival.
City organizers arrived at 7 a.m. and worked well past 11 p.m Monday, preparing the festival and ensuring the festivities went smoothly.
"Well, it's a big group effort, and this is a big festival for Holts Summit, so everyone plays their part," Holts Summit Mayor Landon Oxley said. "The staff does a wonderful job and I can't brag on them enough, as they're the ones that get it done."
Oxley was pleased with the impressive turnout for the night.
Due to the efforts of the staff, area residents were treated with a plethora of entertainment options. Vendors grilled and served food, there were a number of children activities - including moon bounces and pony rides - and organizers were able to book live entertainment for the duration of the festival.
One of those vendors included Michael's Unforgettable BBQ. Owner Michael Ferguson has been a vendor at the festival for the past six years and said the variety of activities is one of his favorite aspects of the festival.
"It's a clean family event, there's fun for the kids and the grown-ups," Ferguson said. "We just enjoy coming out here because it lets people know that we're active, and we know Holts Summit is seeking to grow; so that's why we always come back here."
The chance to impact the community while improving the business viability is a big reason why the number of annual vendors for the festival continues to rise, participants said. For Central Bank's community banking President Darrell Mantle, the festival offered another opportunity for the bank to connect with customers.
"We just love the chance to interact with our customers and to be a part of the community," Mantle said. "It's great for people to see us here and know that we support them the same way they support us. It's just one big happy family."
Forty-two vendors participated in the fireworks festival, the most in festival history. City Clerk Amy Burec - who took on most of the vendor coordination responsibilites - was satisfied watching her and coworkers' hard work pay off.
"I think it went great. It's just amazing to have everyone together having fun, especially the kids running around enjoying themselves," Burec said. "I'm very lucky to have a staff that can come together with the city, and we were able to accomplish everything we needed to do."
Burec loves the ability to interact with residents attending the festival.
She said most of the feedback she received was overwhelmingly positive. As the night progressed, Burec started thinking of ways to improve the festival for next year.
First responders play key role
Oxley praised the Holts Summit police and fire departments for helping the festival run smoothly.
"They are very serious about the safety of residents in this area and I can't brag on them enough. They make sure people enjoy this day while also remaining as safe as possible," he said.
Properly planning how to keep the festival safe can be strenuous, but for Holts Summit police Capt. Shannon Jeffries, the end result is worth it.
"This is something that the city hall puts a lot of time into getting all these vendors out here and setting things up effectively," he said. "It's on us to make sure things go smoothly for residents of the city and even those from outside the area that come to the event.
"I just enjoy all the networking that takes place with so many vendors and so many people it's great for the community," he said.
Local band opens for SBB
While the food and vendors brought most patrons Monday night, the fireworks and live entertainment made visitors stay.
Jefferson City band Str8 Arrow opened for the Scooter Brown Band. Str8 Arrow played for more than 90 minutes before SBB took the stage to close out the festival before the firework show got started.
This was SBB's second year headlining the event and lead singer Scott Brown said the band is already planning to return to Holts Summit for the 2018 festival.