Seward Fire and Rescue perform the traditional anvil firing to start off the events for the day.
A crowd gathers to watch the kick off to July 4’s events with a traditional anvil firing. Seward Fire and Rescue performed the firing, launching an anvil into the air with black powder.
A crowd gathers to watch the kick off to July 4’s events with a traditional anvil firing. Seward Fire and Rescue performed the firing, launching an anvil into the air with black powder.
The American flag hangs over The Cattle Bank and Trust in patriotic fashion.
Beans and Bruce take turns smiling at the audience and owner Mackenzie Meyers of Seward at the pet parade.
Lily Morgan, 8, from San Francisco hugs her dog, Trotter, tight on stage at the pet parade. Lily said she named Trotter after James Henry Trotter from James and the Giant Peach. She showed Trotter with her 6-year-old sister, Abigail. Lily and Abigail’s grandparents, Kenrick and Marlene Morgan, live in Seward.
Joyah Warren, 10, and her dog, Drake, won “most patriotic” at the pet parade. Warren lives in Seward and said she enters the pet parade every year.
Pilots prep the airplanes to be used later in the annual July 4 air show held at Seward Municipal Airport.
Micheal Lynch of Wahoo backflips off the high dive at the Seward Dowding Municipal Pool July 4.
Micheal Lynch from Wahoo backflips off the high dive during the final hour of the $1 swim day held to commemorate the 100-year celebration for the Seward Dowding Municipal Pool July 4.
Visitors and locals of Seward County take advantage of the $1 swim event held by the Seward Dowding Municipal Pool to celebrate its 100-year anniversary July 4.
Seward Mayor Josh Eickmeier, left, and Jerry Meyer of the Nebraska National Guard Museum chat before the dedication ceremony for the Cornrows to Hedgerows exhibit at the museum July 4.
Major Gen. Daryl Bohac of the Nebraska National Guard, left, and Chuck Matzke of Seward unveil the plaque for the Cornrows to Hedgerows exhibit at the Nebraska National Guard Museum. The exhibit was officially opened to the public July 4.
A firing squad delivers a 21-gun salute during the dedication of the Cornrows to Hedgerows exhibit at the Nebraska National Guard Museum July 4.
Clark "Mr. Fourth of July" Kolterman leads the festivities at the Seward Bandshell on the Fourth of July. This year marked 50 years Kolterman has been among the leaders for the celebration in Seward.
Hank Hughes, 13, and Lena Hughes, 19, of Seward have some sibling rivalry in the bubblegum blowing contest.
Lena Hughes, 19, of Seward competes in the bubblegum blowing contest at the Seward Bandshell.
The bubblegum blowing contest often draws one of the biggest crowds in Seward on the Fourth.
Hank Hughes, 13, of Seward won the bubblegum blowing contest.
Division winners were Madelyn Steckelberg of Lincoln, pre-teen; Hank Hughes and Riley Pope of Council Bluffs, Iowa, teenagers; and Jamie Wells of Fremont, open.
Jessie Guo of Elkhorn watches the parade from the courthouse stairs.
Michael Robinson, 15, of Wahoo concentrates on clearing the bar mid-air in a warmup run. Robinson fell into the sport after realizing he was bored with long-distance running. Now he’s thankful that he has a place to practice his event outside of school.
“At our school we don’t get a lot of time to pole vault,” Robinson said. “Over the summer we don’t have a pit that we can go to. So this is really nice, because I don’t usually get to pole vault over the summer.”
Josie Puelz, 18, of Lincoln takes a few practice runs before competing in the pole vault competition. Puelz will be a freshman at Concordia University in the fall.
The 29th annual street vault took place July 4 in front of Bottle Rocket Brewing.
Pole vaulters from around the state came to Seward July 4 for the annual street vault.
Joshua Burke of Lincoln participates in the Smash Mental Illness fundraiser July 4. The event raised more than $1,100 for mental health awareness and support. Participants could donate for a chance to smash on the car for half a minute to a minute, and 100% of the proceeds went to the Seward County Suicide Prevention Coalition and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Michelle Williams-Cox of Plymouth, Minnesota, takes a swing at the Smash Mental Illness car.
“Anything we can do to help suicide prevention, I’m all for it,” Williams-Cox said. “Life is hard. It doesn’t have to be that hard.”
Mina Deumic of Lincoln, 6, gets a patriotic unicorn painted on her face at the Seward Fourth of July celebration.
Corbin Roth, 8, from Milford gets his face painted by Fairy Fox Design.
Holly Sedbrook (top), 9, and Max Sedbrook (left), 6, of Lakewood, Colorado, join Kora Urban (middle), 4, and Carter Urban (right), 6, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for face painting and fun on the Fourth of July.
Crowds shop at the craft vendor stands located around the courthouse.
Attendees of the Fourth of July celebration grab lunch from dozens of food stands on Fifth Street.
A 1972 Buick Skylar, owned by Jack Hiett from Lincoln, uses a different approach to the car show, including props to reflect the car’s era.
Many proud car owners traveled to Seward to enter their vehicles in the car show.
Michael Bader, 17, of Seward entered his 2014 Chevrolet Camaro RS in the car show.
Steve Stark of Springfield cleans up his 1960 Chevrolet Impala to be admired for his third time in the Seward car show.
Kevin Pflughaupt and son, Cale, from Seward wait for the carousel to start.
Hadley Steckly, 2, from Beaver Crossing, waits for the motorcycle ride to begin.
The Seward County Genealogical Society’s project is on display in the Civic Center.
Members of Gold Star Martial Arts give a demonstration at the Fourth of July celebration in Seward. Pictured are, from left: (front row) Olivia Nyhoff, age 11, Crete, Karson Cowan, age 13, Crete, Emma Faltin, age 10, Crete, and Lily Bowens, age 10, Brainard; and (back row) Owen Faltin, age 13, Crete, Alyssa Borgman, age 16, Seward, and Logan Cowan, age 9, Crete.
Sophia Becker, 11, of Waco kicks through a wooden board held by instructor Alyssa Cochnar during the Gold Star Martial Arts demonstration at Fifth and Seward Streets.
Kaitlyn Kopf, 14, of Seward kicks through a wooden board held by instructor Alyssa Cochnar.
Tapsation, a clogging team with Capital City Dance Shack, performs as part of the Fourth festivities.
Jacey Tran, 14, of Lincoln, performs a clogging solo as part of the Capital City Dance Shack performances.
The Seward Municipal Band plays its annual Salute to Sousa July 4.
The Seward Municipal Band plays its annual Fourth of July concert at the Bandshell.
The Wissmann family gave a concert July 4 to a standing-room-only crowd at the Civic Center.
A duet from the Grupo Folklorico Sangre Azteca dancers grin at each other as they step in time during their performance at the Bandshell.
Niñas twirl their red skirts during a Hispanic folk dance. The Lincoln-based Grupo Folklorico Sangre Azteca dancers performed at the Bandshell.
Eleven-month-old Elena Coufal shakes hands with 13-year-old singer Leandro Bayona from Peru as he sings “La Bamba.”
Mexican folkloric dancers from the Lincoln-based Grupo Folklorico Sangre Azteca raise their colorful skirts as they take the Bandshell stage.
Mexican folkloric dancers from the Lincoln-based Grupo Folklorico Sangre Azteca raise their colorful skirts as they take the Bandshell stage.
Daniela Olivo, 7, of Lincoln performs with Sangre Azteca at the Bandshell.
Sangre Azteca brought their show to perform at the Bandshell July 4.
A group of Liberian girls from the Matsiko World Orphan Choir introduces themselves through dance. They performed at the Bandshell.
The Matsiko World Orphan Choir strikes a pose at the end of their song.
Two horses obey traffic laws on the streets of Seward by halting at a stop sign.
Two Seward police officers block off parts of Plum Creek Park as a safety precaution before the start of the annual fireworks show July 4.
A skydiver sports an American flag hanging from below his parachute as the National Anthem plays throughout Plum Creek Park July 4.
One of three skydivers hovers over Plum Creek Park as part of an event preceding the fireworks show July 4 in Seward.
Crowds gather in Plum Creek Park to watch the annual fireworks show July 4.
Seward County Independent photographers captured the annual Fourth of July celebration.
