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VALHALLA, N.Y. -- An estimated 6,000 people packed the Kensico Dam Plaza, in Valhalla, Sunday evening to enjoy one of the biggest Fourth of July fireworks events in the country.
It was still raining when Tullio Bruno, his wife Lisa and their 10-year-old son Julian arrived from Katonah. But around 5:30 p.m. the rain stopped and a timid sun found its way through the clouds. Frisbees and footballs crossed the air; people lay on blankets; families formed long lines of chairs.
The Brunos joined a group of more than 20 people, including Lisa's sister Annette and her husband Richard Hastings, from Bronxville, and friend Deborah Considine, from Putnam Valley.
Considine identified the containers arranged on top of a yellow tablecloth: "Texas caviar, coleslaw, potato salad, orzo salad"
"And eggplants bread that we made," Annette added.
Bruno, wearing an American flag bandana, said the group has attended the event for the last seven years.
"The fireworks are spectacular. We came to spend the afternoon," he said.
For Julian and Hastings, despite their 39-year age difference, spending the afternoon meant constantly wrestling for the possession of a water spray, and using it on each other.
"That's the only way I get exercise," Hastings said, his T-shirt wet.
Although only a handful of people danced, bodies did shake when The Wanderers, the first of the two bands performing before the fireworks, played "Old Time Rock and Roll" and "Pretty Woman."
Isidoro Benavente, 65, who was born in Peru and lives in White Plans, approved the band, saying it's much better than this "new rap music."
He was having a good time playing with his two granddaughters, beside his wife, their son and two daughters.
"I like it because it's free and you can sit down and relax," he said.
But if people enjoyed the music, it's the fireworks that really attracted them to the Plaza, said Kathy O'Connor, Westchester County commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Conservation, who helped organize the event.
"The fireworks in front of this dam is different than anywhere else," she said.
Did you celebrate at the Kensico Dam Plaza fireworks? Tell us about it in comments below or on Facebook.
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