On the afternoon of the Fourth of July, members of the Iowa City Downtown District prepared under the hot sun for Iowa City’s Downtown on the Fourth Community Picnic to celebrate America’s 236th Independence Day.

Fireworks lit up the sky around 9:45 p.m. at Hubbard Park after a picnic downtown at 5 and a Pentacrest concert with Tony Brown at 7.

Iowa City community members were invited to pack picnic meals for an evening downtown or dine at one of several locations, including Pagliai’s Pizza, Buffalo Wild Wings, Bo-James, Bread Garden Market, and others.

Iowa City resident Scout Wycoff, 9, told The Daily Iowan before the festivities she was mostly excited for the fireworks in Hubbard Park.

"Last year, it was so fun, because they are always so big and so loud and so colorful," Scout said.

Sporting a colorful, celebratory headband, Wycoff’s sister, Zoe, 6, said, "And they explode."

Community members were encouraged to visit the Iowa City Downtown District informational booth for a chance to win a $100 community gift card.

Coralville’s festivities for the Fourth lasted from June 30 to July 4 in its annual 4thFEST. 4th Fest Committee Chairwoman Paula Bakey said 30,000 people or more were expected to join in the week’s worth of festivities from the June 30 5K run/walk to daily carnival rides to the annual 4th Fest parade on the Fourth.

"We had approximately 125 entries this year [in the parade]," Bakey said. "People were hot and tired, but the streets were still lined."

With temperatures in the high 90s, Bakey encouraged all festival-goers to drink a lot of water and use sunscreen.

In addition to the week’s festivities in Coralville, country band Lonestar performed on July 3 in Morrison Park. Officials chose the group to create a family-friendly atmosphere and draw people, Bakey said.

Cedar Falls resident Joshua Kulow said the concert was warm but a good time.

"It was a free concert they put on for 4thFEST. The price was right, and they were a big band from back when I was in high school," he said. "They actually perform really well live."

Whether it was in Iowa City or Coralville, members of both communities came out to celebrate the American tradition on a hot and relaxing Fourth of July.