Afternoon showers couldn’t dampen the patriotic spirit of the people of Selma Monday night.

Well over 1,000 people crowded Memorial Stadium to tour the renovated facility, honor members of the armed forces, and enjoy the fireworks sky show by Pyro Productions Inc.

“As people settled into their seats, Alabama District 67 Rep. Darrio Melton took the podium and reminded everyone that regardless of their backgrounds, they are all on the same team.

“As we gather here tonight, we are here because of an idea,” he said. “It’s an idea that is bigger than one person or one race. It’s the idea that we are all Americans. All of us have our differences, but we are blessed as one people.”

The show was a collaborative effort of the Dallas County Commission, Selma-Dallas County Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Selma Association, Americorp, Selma High School cheerleaders, city of Valley Grande and town of Orrville.

When the event was planned, Selma Mayor George Evans said the intent was to show unity throughout the county.

“We tried to make this one fun affair for Selma and Dallas County,” he said. “We wanted to bring everyone together for one event.”

The event was not cheap, Dallas County Probate Judge Kim Ballard said. It took everyone working together to make the show a reality.

“Mayor Evans came to me and said we should do this as a joint effort,” he said. “We could not have done this by ourselves.”

To set the tone for the fireworks, Shirley Bennett performed patriotic songs and Jerria Martin read the poem “The Fourth of July.”

Just before the first firework was launched, Dr. Kenny Hatcher also performed “God Bless the USA.”

The show and all of its performances, Ballard said, are just a small example of what Selma and Dallas County can accomplish when differences are put aside.

“It shows when we all get together we can do things that we wouldn’t be able to  do by ourselves.”