I opened my gate for the fireworks festival around 7:02 tonight. Nobody came in right away, so I started stockpiling Roman candles from Tortimer. I filled up every available spot on the first floor of my house with them, and I have a few upstairs as well. Then I checked my map and saw that I have a new villager: Butch.
I waited longer, and still nobody came through the gate, so I left the room for a while. I came back around 7:45 and I saw Patty was in my town. Jorge and TZ also came in soon after. I wished TZ a happy birthday.
We had some fun with sparklers and Roman candles for a while, and then we caught bugs and fish. We eventually went in my house and hung out for a while. Patty was the first to leave, and then TZ left a little later. Jorge stayed until I closed my gate. Even though the night started out looking like nobody would come, my town did fill up and we had a good time.