By ALEXANDER SIMONE

Staff writer

Peabody’s Fourth Fest got off to a slow start Thursday, but a sell-out crowd gathered for the fireworks.

Fourth Fest committee member Jay Gfeller said they sold out of all 4,200 buttons between 8:30 and 9 p.m.

The turnout brought organizers a sense of relief, he said.

“I thought it went very well,” said Linda Martinez of Peabody Community Foundation. “We had a wet beginning, but the weather cleared up and that helped a lot.”

Martinez, who helped set up water bottle stations throughout Peabody, said she was particularly impressed with participation in the inaugural washer tournament.

“They had great turnout for the first washer tournament,” she said. “They managed to get 24 teams.”

The horseshoe tournament also had 24 teams competing, while beach volleyball attracted six teams.

Martinez said fewer groups participated and fewer people attended the day’s activities, likely because it was a Thursday, she said.

“There were fewer attendants, but it was the middle of the week,” she said. “People were being pulled in lots of different directions and whatnot.”

Martinez said she is already excited for 2020.

“It’ll fall on Saturday next year, so that’ll be even better,” she said.