Fireworks colored the sky for a full half an hour on the night of July 4, with more than 15,000 pairs of eyes reflecting each stunning burst. At the end of Sammamish’s second Independence Day celebration, Fourth on the Plateau, it was clear — the festival dwarfed last year’s event and will likely only continue to expand.

“It’s going to just keep growing and growing,” said Sara Ninteman, one of four event planners for the July 4 affair. Last year’s attendees spread the word about the sheer length of the show and the impressive size of the crowd, increasing this year’s turnout.

“We heard great things about the celebration last year. It seemed like it was a fun thing to do so we wanted to give it a try,” Sammamish resident Gary Huff said, noting that the festival really felt like a community event.

“It’s great. We’ve seen a lot of people that we haven’t for a while — a lot of friends,” he said.

Although Fourth on the Plateau centered around the fireworks display, several other attractions entertained fair-goers, including music, food, vendors and an area for kids complete with bouncy toys and balloon animals.

The high participation in the children’s area, which was enlarged for this year’s event, demonstrated a need for yet another upgrade in 2009.

“We definitely saw that we were going to expand the kids’ area for next year,” said Mike Sauerwein, Administrative Services Director for Sammamish.

Officials said they were happy with the crowd — which formed a blanket of families on folding chairs that practically concealed the Commons’ lush summer grass.

“We’re really pleased with how many people are out here having a good time,” City Councilman Mark Cross said as he enjoyed the second of the two bands that played, Dance Factory.

The band’s audience ranged from girls in puffy dresses who flounced around the foot of the stage to adults who gently nodded along to the infectious beat. Two women, sisters Jeannie Grace and Dori Hawkey, grooved through the moves of the electric slide.

Grace said they’d listened to both Dance Factory and the first act, Idol Eyez.

“Both bands have been really good,” said Grace, a retiree from Sammamish. “They’re very entertaining.”

Hawkey, a physical education teacher visiting from Vancouver, Wash., agreed with her older sister.

“I think they play timeless music,” she said.

The tunes stopped well before 10:15 p.m. when the first warning shot flared from the back of the U-Haul van that housed the rest of the noisemakers. Everyone settled into their picnic blankets, “ooh”-ing and “aah”-ing through the show.

“It was beautiful,” said Dawn Sanders, volunteer coordinator for the city. “It lasted longer than both Bellevue and Seattle — we could see their fireworks.”

Fourth on the Plateau was born when residents learned use of the Independence Day staple would be prohibited.

“When the city formed an ordinance to ban fireworks in the city, several citizens formed a committee to try and plan a fireworks event,” Ninteman said. “This is what happened.”

Stan Favini, an Eastside Fire & Rescue captain, said it was a positive trade.

“It looks like a great turnout. I’d much rather see an event like this than in somebody’s private driveway,” he said. “It’s a lot safer for the individual and the community.”

Parking, traffic flow and safety were carefully planned, but a few snags still caused traffic slowdowns on the way home. More than 120 volunteers helped execute the event.

Because of the magnitude of the festival, officials are already looking ahead to the challenges of the next Fourth on the Plateau, including the future construction of a library near the Upper Commons, which will completely eliminate one of two viewing areas.