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If there is one thing more impressive than Hank Williams Jr. coming to Natchez to put on a show, it’s how the city was able to smoothly accommodate the 6,200 fans who came here from 33 different states to see Hank.

Sunday’s big event could not have gone better in our eyes.

We had crowds packed shoulder to shoulder around a stage — who behaved very well, all things considered. Even with alcohol served and during a hot July weekend in the South, there were no stories about mosh pit injuries or fights told the next day.

The City of Natchez deserves a big helping of gratitude for how smoothly things went.

This includes the area business owners who stayed open on a holiday weekend so that visitors would have more things to do before as they came from all over the country to see the show.

We cannot give enough praise to the Natchez Police Department and security officers for effortlessly controlling the crowds and making sure traffic going to and from the festival ground on the Natchez bluff flowed smoothly and accident-free.

Southern Designs, the Biglane family and Natchez National Historical Park also deserve a huge thank you for the easy flow of traffic after they each offered up their parking lots as a shuttle stop for the event.

Clean-up crews who gave up their holiday weekend did an outstanding job. Sunday night left a mess of bottles, cups and other remnants of a good time. By Tuesday morning, it was as though the event never happened.

This event was also made possible by a collaborative effort from our Louisiana friends, who made the Fourth of July a memorable experience for everyone in the vicinity of the Mississippi River.

Nothing but good feedback was heard about the amazing fireworks display Sunday night, for which we owe thanks to Sabrina Doré of Miss-Lou Fireworks, pyrotechnic Curtis Elkins and the Vidalia Dock & Storage barge service and all of those in the Miss-Lou who sponsored it.

We also thank Ardenland and Church Hill Creative, who coordinated and put together this event and others that came before.

To echo words spoken by Ardenland owner Arden Barnett, we will see you at the next one.