Viewfinder: The Fourth, Lilburn-Style

Lilburn City Park rarely sees the kind of crowd that assembled there Monday for the city's Star-Spangled Celebration.

Despite the threat of storms that sent many into the city hall auditorium for shelter — though the heavy storms nearby never made it to Old Town — and the rain that came afterward, the city's first Fourth of July event in many years was a rousing success.

Estimates put the crowd at perhaps more than 1,000 people, many of whom relaxed on picnic blankets, played volleyball, soccer, football and on the playground, and were treated to a good ol' fashioned small-town Independence Day.

"What a crowd," Mayor Diana Preston said. "And they stayed around even after it rained. What a night."

The crowd was treated to live surf music by local bands StratoGeezer of Norcross and The Surge from Lilburn, who were so well-received that many people popped up umbrellas to continue to listen to the tunes even when a light but steady rain fell.

The night ended with a fireworks program that included sparklers for the kids, a lineup of legal "fountain" sparklers, and loud aerial fireworks set off with "Eye of the Tiger" playing in the background.

The large crowd, which pleasantly surprised organizers, created a bit of a traffic jam while cars left the area around 10 p.m.

The event, planned in less than a month, was first Lilburn Fourth of July program in perhaps 20 years. Preston said the last fireworks display she remembers was when a local group held them at the intersection of Indian Trail and Lawrenceville Highway back when her kids were little ones.

The program came about after a conversation that Preston and Surge frontman John McCorvey had recently at a local barber shop, where McCorvey was getting a haircut.

McCorvey, a Nantucket subdivision resident, expressed interest in playing in the park. Preston thought that was a good idea.

Quickly, McCorvey said he could get StratoGeezer, with its frontman Thom Brewer, a Berkmar High School graduate, to play, too.

Why not July 4?, Preston and McCorvey wondered, and the event was on its way to fruition.

So, what about next year? "Maybe. You never know," Preston said.

Editor's Note: Special thanks to Richard Ferris for many of the images used with this report.