Garland is hosting its Independence Day celebration Thursday evening. "Red, White & You" is taking place on the Downtown Garland Square.
Events at Downtown Garland Square start at 5 p.m. Thursday. The city plans live music, a carnival and food trucks leading up to a fireworks show 9:30 p.m.
"The city's able to host all kinds of activities here," one man said on the plaza Thursday afternoon. "It's just a great venue for all types of things."
As Garland has grown to more than 240,000 people, he says the square helps the city maintain a neighborhood feel.
"It's always been my hometown, and I don't see leaving anytime soon," he says.
The plaza opened in 2023, and kids were playing in the fountains, on the lawn and among activities set up on the space.
"It's nice," one mom said. "We can just have a lot of fun with the kids and family."
Neighboring shops, bars and restaurants say they were expecting crowds to start filing in late afternoon as more people get off work for a long weekend.
"People love it, they love this event," the manager of one restaurant said. "Especially since they redid [the square], it's impacted the business in a very positive way."
A list of events, food trucks and parking map is available at https://www.visitgarlandtx.com/events/2025/red-white-and-you .