City of Rincon officials are reviewing how they can make the annual Freedom Rings event better.

City council members discussed the aftermath of the city’s first fireworks show, which brought thousands of people to Freedom Park. It also brought a snarl of traffic as hundreds of cars attempted to leave at once.

“Freedom Rings was a successful event,” said city planner LaMeisha Kelly. “It was truly a team effort. A lot of months of work went into it.”

The fireworks show was the first the city had staged and the turnout stunned city officials, who had anticipated a large crowd.

“I’ve never seen that many people at one event in the county,” said City Manager Wesley Corbitt.

Kelly said the council members deserve credit for their willingness to back the Freedom Rings event and have fireworks for the first time.

“Rincon is the leader, in terms of investment into event,” Kelly said. “It really shows the foresight and being able to provide an all-around event. Staff came with a far-fetched event, and (city council) said make it happen.”

Corbitt acknowledged there were items the city needs to address before next year’s Freedom Rings.

“We’ve got a list of things we can improve,” he said. “We want to try to make it bigger and better next year.”