San Antonio is gearing up to celebrate this July Fourth with new offerings and traditions.

Why it matters: July Fourth fireworks will be back downtown for the first time in 15 years.

The big picture: This year also marks America's 250th birthday. America250 is a series of events stemming from Congress' U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission.

• The San Antonio area has several official events, including the Stars & Stripes on Houston Street extravaganza downtown.
• There are also offerings outside the holiday, including an ongoing city exhibition about the influence of Texas women ranch owners during the American Revolution.

The latest: New this year is the Stars & Stripes Downtown 5K, starting at 8:30am.

• The Stars & Stripes on Houston Parade, and the food and music festival, both kick off at 10am.
• The event will culminate this year with a 9pm fireworks display at Civic Park at Hemisfair.
• All events are free except for the 5K, which has a $40 registration fee.

What they're saying: "We launched this celebration in 2024 with the goal of bringing a major Fourth of July parade back to downtown, something the city had not seen since 1898," Trish DeBerry, Centro San Antonio CEO, said in a statement.

• "But this year truly marks the beginning of what we always imagined it could become."

Other celebrations around town include:

• The annual free party at Woodlawn Lake Park kicks off with fitness activities at 8am. Fireworks begin at 9pm; lawn chairs are encouraged.
• Six Flags Fiesta Texas will host Star-Spangled Nights July 3-5. For the first time this year, there will be three distinct fireworks shows across the park on July Fourth, including the return of a 360-degree display visible throughout the park — what it's calling the largest in Texas.
• The Alamo will host a variety of programming throughout the day, including a Living History team dressed in period clothing, a musket firing demonstration and live music. The fun begins at 10am.

The bottom line: There's no shortage of July Fourth fun in San Antonio this year.

Empty nesters own more of San Antonio's family-sized homes than millennials with kids, per a recent Redfin analysis.

Why it matters: The people who have the space aren't necessarily the ones who need it — and that's making a tight housing market even tighter.

By the numbers: Millennials with kids own about 17% of the share of homes with three or more bedrooms in the San Antonio metro area.

• Empty nest baby boomers own about 23%.
• That's per the Redfin analysis of the latest census data from 2024.

Zoom in: Nationally, the highest shares of millennial families who own large homes are in Austin; Columbus, Ohio; and Minneapolis, all at roughly 19%.

• The lowest are in Los Angeles (11%), Miami (13%) and San Jose, California (13%).

The big picture: Older homeowners have plenty of reasons to age in place.

• Many are mortgage-free or locked into low mortgage rates.
• Boomers may also want to stay put to remain near family, keep their routines or avoid packing up decades of belongings.

Meanwhile, millennial families run into both supply and affordability challenges when trying to move into larger homes, per Redfin.

• There aren't enough family-sized homes on the market, while high home prices and mortgage rates have priced many younger buyers out.

Yes, but: Millennials have gained ground — from owning around 5% of large U.S. homes in 2014 to 16% in 2024 — partly by buying homes once owned by the Silent Generation, per Redfin.

✒️ Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and former Councilmember Melissa Cabello Havrda are opening a tattoo studio on the Main Strip. They will hold a flash tattoo event noon-midnight tomorrow. (Instagram)

🛣️ Several road closures will be in place this weekend, including the eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 at Loop 1604 and the southbound lanes of Interstate 35 at Loop 410. (Express-News 🔑)

🏫 The San Antonio ISD board named Adrian Bustillos, from Aldine ISD in Houston, its lone finalist for superintendent. (SA Report)

🍼 Texans are having more babies than other people in the U.S., but the state's fertility rate is still falling. (Texas Tribune)

With the World Cup in full swing, Watch Party Radar shows you where to catch the latest match from anywhere in the world.

Context: Stefan and Dennis Tan built the database and map because they often travel for work and found it difficult to find a place to watch sporting events with fellow fans.

• "The World Cup felt like the perfect moment to fix (that), because cheering alongside fellow countrymen makes it come alive even more," Stefan tells Axios.

How it works: Watch Party Radar aggregates websites, social media posts and articles about venues offering viewing opportunities and makes them accessible on a map.

• No business has to sign up or pay, and it's open to users.
• Search for San Antonio or surrounding cities here.

👋 It's Megan! I recently asked y'all about liminal spaces in San Antonio, after seeing "Backrooms."

Catch up quick: The movie, set in the '90s, explores the concept of liminal spaces — areas often empty, abandoned or unnerving for reasons you can't quite explain.

Here are some spaces you thought of.

George T.: "While not an old space, some of the hallways leading to the bathrooms at La Cantera can be quite the eerie liminal spaces during off hours or days."

• George, I completely agree. La Cantera might feel like a lively and new mall, but its bathroom hallways transport you into a quiet other realm.

Court T.: "Wandering the halls of the schools during breaks in classes (summer, winter, etc.) and seeing the classrooms totally void of students. Always very eerie."

Plus: MySA highlighted Methodist Plaza as a liminal space.

What's next: A San Antonio director created the short film "Liminal," which premiered last month and is set for a YouTube release July 24.