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Light a fire cracker for Constance Wolfe and the Lawrence Originals for a bang-up July 4 gathering in Watson Park here in Lawrence on Saturday. (LJ World story)

Lawrence hasn’t quite been able to achieve a lasting community Fourth of July tradition, but I hope this event becomes one. It’s got a lot going for it: A downtown location that lets lots of people attend without everyone being stuck in cars forever waiting to get in and out (as was the case at Burcham Park and Clinton Lake), and good food from local vendors that just happen also to support local charities through the Lawrence GiveBack program.

What I liked

Easy transactions. Didn’t have to wait at all to buy tickets to use at the vendors. Ticket sellers were readily available, and I thought selling in $5 increments made a lot of sense and saved much time on change-making.

Short menus but wide selection. Most vendors offered three or four items, but they covered the riverfront. You could get such July 4th traditions as hot dogs and hamburgers/sliders and watermelon; almost as traditional barbecue ribs and sandwiches and corn on the cob; and decidedly untraditional items such as chicken satay and bruschetta and veggie spring rolls and veggie korma and tofu wraps. I thought the prices were reasonable too.

Chicken salad from Local Burger

Good but not overpowering music. I like live music. I also like conversation. I appreciate it when the music is loud enough to enjoy but not so loud that you can’t talk to the person next to you. That’s exactly how it was Saturday. Thanks!

Being close to other activities. I liked being able to go watch the Tour of Lawrence criteriums and then back to the park, and I know some people swam at the city pool next door before moving north for food and fireworks.

Good fireworks. OK, so the trees block some of the fireworks for people in the park. It was still a great show, and I was impressed at how long it went on.

NEWS FLASH: The Lawrence Originals paid for the fireworks. The Jaycees evidently lost a major sponsor, so the vendors came up with around $6,000, Constance said, to pay for the show.

The weather. Good job, Mother Nature!

Click on the thumbnails for somewhat bigger pictures of more of the food:

Good cause

Meanwhile, members of local charities trolled the area looking to sign up more GiveBack participants. If you aren’t participating, do check it out. The program rewards you for patronizing these independent local businesses, and it builds the community by letting you designate a charity to which businesses donate as part of the program. I figure any way I can help good causes with my ordinary spending is a great idea. Even if you don’t go to restaurants, you can still help when you use the card at Checker’s supermarket.

In fact, at the park on Saturday, organizers presented checks to three of the charities. Wolfe said that since the card started (around the first of the year, I think), people had used them on more than $1 million of transactions, and the participating businesses have donated more than $25,000 to local charities. And if your favorite charity is you, you should know that you get $10 on the card to use at the same businesses if you use the card enough. How cool is that?

I ran into Constance Sunday morning at the park after the festivities. She was checking to make sure trash got picked up. Looked pretty darned clean to me. She said some vendors sold out their food, some didn’t, but I’d guess that’s par for the course, even if you aren’t in the first year of a big event. She said they might want to make a few changes if they do it again next year (Please do!), but I honestly have no complaints, and I can complain with the best (worst?) of them.

All in all, the event was a great way to celebrate Independence Day-and independents’ day, too. What did you think?