CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Thousands of people filled Uptown Charlotte for the annual July 4th fireworks show at BB&T Ballpark. 

• BB&T Ballpark was filled with people celebrating Independence Day
• Some attendees say it's a summer tradition
• Charlotte Knights played a sold-out game

The celebrations started early in the day with a festival outside the ballpark. There was plenty of good food, music and activities for the whole family. 

Some families we spoke with said the trip Uptown is part of their summer tradition. 

"The tradition used to be we used to try and view it from the parking lot. But now that all these buildings have been built we have to come down to the festival, and come down to the park. Since they built the baseball park, it's been wonderful down here," says Rashied Broome, a Charlotte resident.  

Other people say this is their first year seeing the show, and they wanted to see if the fireworks would live up to the hype. 

"Living by the ballpark, I experience the fireworks every Friday night anyway. But it's a bigger show, and I just wanted to see what it's about, hangout with some friends in town for once," says Adam Reid.

The staff for the Charlotte Knights say this was a sold-out game, and even more people packed the surrounding bars and restaurants to see the show.