Sure, the temperature soared well into the 90s and there was no mistaking the humidity for anything but summer in the South. But for the swarms of July 4th celebrants who brought their families, pets, and tailgating atmosphere to Smith Lake Park Tuesday for the park’s annual Fireworks and Music Festival, there’s no place they’d rather have been.

A newly-opened boat launch and improved beachfront area made the perfect focal point for the day-long festival, which culminated with the annual fireworks display after sundown.

Deeper into the park, there was no shortage of things to do, either. Live music drifted through the park from morning to night, food vendors kept sun-famished guests supplied, and a full slate of activities — from the annual golf cart parade to miniature golf to tons of arts and crafts exhibitors showing off their handiwork — kept the patriotic party going.

Jennifer Young of Berlin, hanging out with an entourage under one of the many shade pavilions pitched along the shoreline, said the crowds came early this year, and they came in force.

“Last year there weren’t this many people. I got here early this morning, and this was pretty much the last space where we could set up,” she said. “But it’s nice; we’re right in the middle of it with everybody else, and that’s what it’s all about — you just make a day out of it.”

It had been a decade since Patrick Burks of West Point had attended a July 4th festival at the park, and over the years a lot, he said, had changed. “We used to camp down here, it’s something my family’s been doing for years. But it had just gotten so busy, for a while, that we kind of just let it go,” he explained. “They’ve done a lot to improve things out here, and it’s just nice to be back out here and hanging out with all these people.”

For Christina Guzman of Decatur, the festival also functions as a family reunion of sorts. Staked out along the beach with 30 other family members — relatives who return to the park each year from their homes in Hartselle, Decatur and Hillsboro — Guzman and the other grown-ups kept a watchful eye on their (and everybody else’s) splashing children throughout the day.

Why come to Smith Lake all the way from Morgan and Lawrence Counties, when there are plenty of July 4th festivals closer to home?

“It gives them the beach; it gives them a park; you have the community and the barbecue and just everybody coming together,” Guzman explained. “Everybody watches over each other’s kids, and it’s something that gives the kids everything that they need to have a good day — plus the fireworks at night, and you just can’t beat that. It’s the best way to celebrate the 4th.”