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Weather clears for fireworks
  
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By Tom Munds
The day varied from cloudy to rainy to bright sunshine July 4 as Mother Nature lived up to the adage if you don’t like Colorado weather, wait a minute.
However, the weather cleared enough for the July 4 Family Fun and Fireworks Festival to go on pretty much as planned, including the fireworks display at 9:30 p.m.
The crowd was not quite as large as it has been in some years but there were still plenty of people who oohed and aahed as the fireworks lit up the night.
“It got cold at times but it still was a pretty nice day for the whole family,” Ray Santiago said as he packed up his gear. “We had sides on our shelter and everyone brought coats so it wasn’t too bad. I’m glad we stayed because the fireworks were really nice.”
Englewood and Littleton along with South Suburban Parks and Recreation Department annually join forces to put on a full day of activities at Belleview, Cornerstone and Progress parks. This year, the sponsors were joined by Cherry Hills Village, Centennial and Arapahoe County.
The day’s event got off to a good start with a kid’s fishing derby around the lake in Progress Park. While there wasn’t a lot of participants, the anglers and their parents were enthusiastic and eager to land one or more of the 150 trout that were put in the lake for the event.
Lori Wagner was there with her daughter McKenzie for the event because, Lori said both of them like to fish.
“I grew up in Minnesota, learned to fish as a little girl and I taught McKenzie,” the Littleton woman said. “McKenzie was in her first fishing derby when she was 2, we always to go the Western Welcome Week event but this is the first time at this one.”
McKenzie, 7, said she does like fishing, particularly when she gets a big fish on the hook and the pole bends. She said she likes catching fish and she also likes setting them free. The girl wound up winning a prize for landing an 11 1/4-inch trout.
Later in the day, there was a wide variety of activities at Cornerstone Park, including field games like sack races and Hula Hoop contests.
Across the street at Belleview Park, there were attractions plus many people set up their own games.
Footballs and flying discs were common, the Cunningham family had a volleyball net set up, and a short distance away, a family was playing croquet.
Clouds swirled around all day and, about 5:30 p.m., the clouds got thicker, a chilly breeze sprang up and it began to rain.
Many families packed up, raced to the car and left the area. However, the Weinstein family stayed put.
“We came early to get a good spot and we aren’t leaving,” Lewis Weinstein said after the rain passed over. “We just pulled the lawn chairs in close and pulled down the top of the canopy to keep us dry. We didn’t think the weather would last long.”
Rick Porterfield and his girlfriend Sandi Olstein agreed. The couple never moved when the rains came. They moved their lawn chairs close together, broke out ponchos while the rain fell. They said they stayed warm and dry because, they came to see fireworks, staked out a good spot and didn’t plan to leave. They were in the same spot and they cheered a few hours later with the fireworks lit up the sky.
However, the weather cleared enough for the July 4 Family Fun and Fireworks Festival to go on pretty much as planned, including the fireworks display at 9:30 p.m.
The crowd was not quite as large as it has been in some years but there were still plenty of people who oohed and aahed as the fireworks lit up the night.
“It got cold at times but it still was a pretty nice day for the whole family,” Ray Santiago said as he packed up his gear. “We had sides on our shelter and everyone brought coats so it wasn’t too bad. I’m glad we stayed because the fireworks were really nice.”
Englewood and Littleton along with South Suburban Parks and Recreation Department annually join forces to put on a full day of activities at Belleview, Cornerstone and Progress parks. This year, the sponsors were joined by Cherry Hills Village, Centennial and Arapahoe County.
The day’s event got off to a good start with a kid’s fishing derby around the lake in Progress Park. While there wasn’t a lot of participants, the anglers and their parents were enthusiastic and eager to land one or more of the 150 trout that were put in the lake for the event.
Lori Wagner was there with her daughter McKenzie for the event because, Lori said both of them like to fish.
“I grew up in Minnesota, learned to fish as a little girl and I taught McKenzie,” the Littleton woman said. “McKenzie was in her first fishing derby when she was 2, we always to go the Western Welcome Week event but this is the first time at this one.”
McKenzie, 7, said she does like fishing, particularly when she gets a big fish on the hook and the pole bends. She said she likes catching fish and she also likes setting them free. The girl wound up winning a prize for landing an 11 1/4-inch trout.
Later in the day, there was a wide variety of activities at Cornerstone Park, including field games like sack races and Hula Hoop contests.
Across the street at Belleview Park, there were attractions plus many people set up their own games.
Footballs and flying discs were common, the Cunningham family had a volleyball net set up, and a short distance away, a family was playing croquet.
Clouds swirled around all day and, about 5:30 p.m., the clouds got thicker, a chilly breeze sprang up and it began to rain.
Many families packed up, raced to the car and left the area. However, the Weinstein family stayed put.
“We came early to get a good spot and we aren’t leaving,” Lewis Weinstein said after the rain passed over. “We just pulled the lawn chairs in close and pulled down the top of the canopy to keep us dry. We didn’t think the weather would last long.”
Rick Porterfield and his girlfriend Sandi Olstein agreed. The couple never moved when the rains came. They moved their lawn chairs close together, broke out ponchos while the rain fell. They said they stayed warm and dry because, they came to see fireworks, staked out a good spot and didn’t plan to leave. They were in the same spot and they cheered a few hours later with the fireworks lit up the sky.
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