Addison Kaboom Town! 2026: fireworks, air show celebrate America's 250th birthday

Addison's Kaboom Town! is one of the biggest Independence Day celebrations around, ranked among the top three shows in the country, and this year, it coincides with America's 250th birthday.

Tens of thousands of people pack the town on Friday for the signature airshow and a fireworks show, which takes all year to plan.  

Gates open up at 5 p.m. at Addison Circle Park.   The celebration includes live music, family activities, food vendors, and the "Christmas in July" elf market.

The town will host an air show, featuring stunt pilots at 7:30 p.m. Then, the fireworks light up the sky at 9:30 p.m.

The "Patriotic pergola" includes flags of all 50 states and five territories mounted in the order that each was admitted into the union. Texas was 28th.

Half a million people are expected in Addison this weekend, many of them are in town to see the FIFA World Cup.

"This fireworks display is over 20 minutes, and it's a pyro group that's well known," said Faith Alford, the spokesperson for the Town of Addison. "They've been a part of Kaboom Town! for decades now. They go along to a playlist, so you're seeing all this incredible magic just light up the sky. The last part, the finale, is incredible. That's where they light up the most fireworks. It's literally like a movie, if you will."    

Organizers say people can expect even more festivities for this year's celebration.

"We went extra for America's 250th," said Alford. "We ramped it up. We made sure that everywhere that you look at this park, you are going to see red, white and blue. The energy is high. We made sure the playlist was right. We got all of our music acts together, all of that live entertainment together, because we wanted to make sure that this was going to be a special birthday."

Tickets are sold out, but you can see the fireworks on CBS News Texas and our YouTube page.