4th on Broadway parade, image by Scott Mann
Lubbock is working on a backup plan for a 4th of July parade and fireworks show this year after the nonprofit group Broadway Festivals announced Monday it could not continue the annual Fourth on Broadway events, LubbockLights.com has learned.
“We are working on a plan to make sure that we have a 4th of July parade and fireworks show this year,” said Mark McBrayer, mayor.
Don Caldwell, who passed away last May, was the driving force for 4th on Broadway – a parade, street fair, series of musical events and fireworks show. It was hailed as the largest free festival in Texas. This coming year would have been the 35th-annual 4th on Broadway.
“Everybody was writing about ‘It’s dead. It’s gone.’ And I go, ‘Well, no,” McBrayer said.
Some details not known yet
“This came as sort of short notice to us, but we think we’ll be able to put together a plan that will keep it going. I don’t want to lapse, and we need to be prepared to have the biggest 4th of July parade and firework show ever, next year, on our nation’s 250th birthday,” McBrayer said.
McBrayer said he met with City Manager Jarrett Atkinson about 4th of July celebrations for the first time on Tuesday.
“We don’t have anything definite yet. But I’m committed to making sure it goes forward this year,” McBrayer said.
The city will need someone to hold contracts with vendors and the mayor thinks that’ll likely be Civic Lubbock, Inc.
As for cost and budget, McBrayer’s not sure yet but some of the services like police protection can come from the city.
“The city is probably going to have to authorize money out of the Civic Lubbock budget to do this. So, we’ll probably have to take steps like that for them to oversee it,” McBrayer said.
The Civic Lubbock budget for this current year is $2 million. It’s a slight increase overall, but money for grants and special events was cut 24 percent.
There are other organizations within the city, but he felt confident Civic Lubbock would be the best.
LubbockLights.com reached out to two officials with Civic Lubbock before this story was published. One of them, Jim Douglass, board president, spoke to us after publication. (This story has been updated to reflect his comments.)
“I’m flattered. … Civic Lubbock, our board, definitely would want to participate and help in any way we can,” Douglass said.
But he also added, he’s not certain what’s possible on such short notice.
“I suspect that in the very near future – very near future – we’re going to need to have kind of a summit meeting of all the different players,” Douglass said.
When asked about the cost, he answered, “I have no idea what all the expenses are.”
McBrayer said, “I think the most important thing is just to let the community know we will have a parade.”
McBrayer hopes there could also be an evening concert.
“The main thing – I want to make sure that we’re prepared for next year because next year is going to be a big blowout,” McBrayer said.
July 4, 2026, will be America’s semi-quincentennial (250th) birthday.
Caldwell in his own words on how it started
In October, 2022, Caldwell sat down for an interview with Lubbock Stories Inc., the parent company of LubbockLights.com.
“We started 4th on Broadway and got a bunch of networking going with some businesses that came out in support,” Caldwell said.
He was busy with the Caldwell recording studio in those days.
“And we got to know some people. I mean, I’d been isolated in that studio, sitting in that studio 14 hours a day every day. You don’t see too many people,” Caldwell said.
It was only a few years later someone convinced Caldwell to purchase the building which became the Cactus Theater in the Depot District. That one-two punch of 4th on Broadway and the Cactus made a huge difference for local artists.
“No one cared about music in Lubbock. And 4th on Broadway happened – people started networking. … And I thought, ‘Man, here’s the way that we can heighten public awareness to the value of the music out here, and we can get investment capital in these artists and build this thing to where Lubbock can be more than just a springboard for talent and an incubator,’” Caldwell said.
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