Freedom Over Texas (July 4th)

This is the city's official July 4th event, held at Eleanor Tinsley Park on Buffalo Bayou just west of downtown, and it ends with the largest fireworks show in Houston.

The thing nobody tells first-timers is that the festival is ticketed but the fireworks are not. Admission gets you into the park for the music, the food and the family areas through the afternoon and evening. The show itself goes up over the bayou and is visible from a good deal of Buffalo Bayou Park, the Sabine Street bridge and parts of downtown, all free. Which of those two events you are attending should be a deliberate choice.

If you are going into the park, go early and accept that you will be sitting in July heat for hours before dark. Shade at Tinsley is limited and the ground is a slope. Water, a hat and something to sit on are not optional.

Street closures along Allen Parkway start well before the gates, so plan the approach on foot from downtown rather than trying to park nearby. Ticket prices and the lineup post on the city's site in June.