The rainy weather put a little damper on some Fourth of July plans, but the people in Vicksburg still enjoyed a safe and happy weekend.

The rain also did little to drown the enthusiasm or the crowd that turned out for the annual Fourth of July fireworks show in downtown Vicksburg, proving to be among the highlights of a fun and safe holiday.

For the amount of people who came to town, and as many activities were scheduled and held, Vicksburg Chief of Police Walter Armstrong said, the weekend was relatively calm. “With the amount of people we had in town, I’m happy to say it was, for the most part, a safe weekend,” Armstrong said. “People tend to celebrate with alcohol and accidents tend to happen. Besides a couple of minor car accidents, it was a calm weekend.”

Armstrong said this Fourth of July weekend seemed to be safer than in years past. The rain may have had an effect on that, but it helped keep the city safe, according to him.

“I’m very pleased with the visitors and the outcome of the weekend,” Armstrong said. “People enjoyed themselves and celebrated responsibly.”

Between setting up the stage and the equipment for Mustache The Band to play downtown and making sure the fireworks work right, the city’s Parks and Recreation department had a busy week setting up for the perfect show.

For Parks and Recreation director Joseph Graves, preparing for the weekend included many early mornings starting at 7 a.m. and tons of paperwork making sure the weekend went according to his plan.

With the holiday weekend now behind him, Graves is pleased with the results.

“All the paperwork and all the work we went through, it was all worth it,” Graves said. “The fireworks and the band were great and the rain didn’t damage any plans, so the show kept on rolling.”

According to Graves, the only problem that occurred over the weekend was the wind causing to delay the start of the band’s performance Saturday evening.

“The wind caused us to hold the band a little, but it passed pretty quickly and they kept on rocking,” Graves said.

The concert and fireworks show thrilled Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr., who was happy with the amount of people that were in Vicksburg despite the rain.

“When you talk about the rain, I think we still had about 5,000 people. There’s no telling how many would have been there if we hadn’t had the rain,” Flaggs said. “Everybody I talked with was pleased, even the folks I talked with from out of town.”