With thundering, colorful ”booms” that could be seen, heard and enjoyed throughout the Bend area, the Fourth of July fireworks show from atop Pilot Butte provided a crowning finish to the national holiday on Friday night.

Splashes of light lit up the sky, beginning at about 10 p.m., as the celebratory display continued for about 20 minutes.

Revelers who had gathered for the Old Mill Blues Festival at the Les Schwab Amphitheater enjoyed one of many area venues with a great view of the display.

Spectators floating nearby on the Deschutes River in canoes and rafts enjoyed the music of Susan Tedeschi and Taj Mahal and his Hula Blues Band as well as a sweeping view of the fireworks. The display opened with pyrotechnics that appeared to create a volcanic effect with orange lava bubbling at the top.

Nicole Daane, a California visitor sitting among a couple of thousand spectators at the amphitheater on a balmy summer night with her 3-year-old daughter, Cierra, said the youngster ”really likes the fireworks, but she doesn’t like the boom.”

The crowd did, though, applauding and cheering the colorful display.

”I think it’s nice the community comes together to support what they do,” said Brooke Tollefson, 22, of Bend, in commenting on the display sponsored by The Bulletin.”I’m an east-coaster from Boston,” said Peter Sturman, 41, of Brookline, Mass., who also enjoyed the music and the fireworks show. ”I’m shell-shocked out here because there’s so much open space and people are so friendly. It’s a slice of life I don’t get to take in very often.”

Meanwhile, in downtown Bend on Friday morning a big crowd was happy that the dog days of summer had arrived.

Even on a day that isn’t a national holiday, it seems like the community has many dogs as there are people. And it’s never more apparent than the pet parade that takes place on the day the nation celebrates its national heritage. Owners and pets marched downtown on Friday morning past hundreds of spectators who lined Bond and Wall streets to watch and cheer.

The procession also included bicycling children, tumbling gymnasts and flag-clad llamas. And, of course, the random costumed dog.

Donned in a black cheerleading skirt, Pancho, a shepherd-bulldog mix, was the hit of the parade.

”He’s cheering our freedom,” said Jean Fox of Bend who led Pancho through the parade with her granddaughter Ella Feldman.

The pet parade was one of many Fourth of July activities in downtown Bend.

The day started with the Spark Your Heart 5K race, morphed into the pet parade, then spilled over into the Old-Fashioned Fourth of July Festival at Drake Park.

Later, the Red White and Blues Festival included performances at the Mirror Pond Park by local bands.

Steve Esselstyn, a community liaison officer for the Bend Police Department, estimated that the morning’s events drew a crowd of 7,000 to 8,000 people.

”It’s a good group,” Esselstyn said. ”They were very orderly and there were no incidents.”

Over in The Old Mill District, bicyclists sped off in the morning on a 100-mile bike race that took them through Alfalfa to Prineville and back.

In Redmond, the ”Let Freedom Ring” Fourth of July parade traveled down Sixth Street while in Madras, Fourth of July started with a breakfast at Sahalee Park followed by a parade.

Prineville hosted an old-fashioned Fourth of July at Ochoco Creek Park complete with a pancake breakfast and games and crafts throughout the day. And in La Pine, celebrators could wander from Frontier Days, which included an art show, bingo and pony rides, to the nearby rodeo.

Lisa Rosetta can be reached at 541-617-7812 or at lrosetta@bendbulletin.com.

Ernestine Bousquet can be reached at 541-504-2336 or at ebousquet@bendbulletin.com.