Happiness over Franklin

It was the moment of the night where the crowd exploded with excitement.

The smiley-face firework seemed to look down and spread its happiness acrosss the crowd.

The cheers competed with the sound of the next blast from across the Allegheny River where the colorful spectacles were being catapulted into the sky.

It wasn't just the one blast thrown into the mix of the show that smiled on Franklin's Fourth of July celebration, the weather too grinned and gave Franklin a good final day of their week-and-a-half long list of  festivities.

The forecast last week for Thunder over Franklin was not good, but come showtime it was dry and clear. It may have been a bit warm, but, it wasn't sweltering.

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Many folks helped entertain by bringing their own fireworks and sparklers to the river's edge, while the Route 8 band played music for a couple hours and  food vendors filled bellies. It was full on festival with people crowding into the park and coming outside their homes all over the city.

It was a fitting end to a weird week of weather and wildfire smoke cancellations that made the eleven days of activities seem a little less full than usual. But between Cranberry, Oil City and Franklin, folks sure did get a good dose of pyrotechnics and music. And Franklin got in their parade and ice cream social, the Penny Carnival, and the Silver Cornet concert, all with good size crowds.

And lots of family fun. Which is the Franklin way.