Despite a bad weather interlude on Wednesday that resulted in a shutdown of events for a  few hours, Austin’s Freedom Fest drew thousands to its many activities.

“It went very well,” said Austin Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sandy Forstner. “Attendance was great; the entire parade route was filled.”

And, he added, the park was filled to capacity, too, for fireworks Wednesday night.

And that’s pretty good for a Fourth of July that began in high heat and humidity.

Then, the storm came.

“We had to shut down for three hours, I think, but by 5 p.m., people started coming right back,” Forstner said.

Blooming Prairie was not so lucky, and was among other southern Minnesota cities who either cancelled or delayed events. Its parade and fireworks had to be shut down due to the storm.

Forstner estimated 20,000 attended the parade as well as the fireworks.

Although some say that having the Fourth fall on Wednesday makes for a larger crowd, Forstner said it was more likely that visitors just plain enjoy attending Freedom Fest.

“Oh, we say, ‘Well, if it falls on the weekend, we’ll have bigger crowds, or this day,” and so on, he said.

“No matter what day, we think people just really look forward to Freedom Fest,” he said.

He extended his thanks on behalf of the Chamber to all the volunteers, sponsors and businesses that supported the fest, as well as the city of Austin for the help its departments provided.