Nothing would ruin the Fourth of July quite like receiving a citation for fireworks.

The city of Kirkland will be taking an educational approach this weekend for Independence Day, but repeat offenders beware: possession of fireworks without the proper permit is illegal in Kirkland, and a citation requires an appearance in court and possible fine.

Last year, fireworks calls increased dramatically from the previous Independence Day weekend. In 2014, city fire and police departments responded to 45 fireworks calls.

In 2015, there were 74.

Part of the change was a proactive tactic between the departments to better spot and respond to fireworks incidents, including a handful of unmarked cars and two officers specifically assigned to patrol neighborhoods for fireworks activity.

The year-round ban went into effect in 1999, but Kirkland Fire Department Chief Joe Sanford said his department will still focus on education before citation.

Though open flame — campfires or similar — aren’t outright banned this year, Sanford cautioned residents to be sure a fire extinguisher of some type is close by. That includes charcoal and bar-b-que, simply so a small fire doesn’t quickly get out of control.

If residents do see fireworks, Sanford said, they shouldn’t hesitate to let the authorities know.

“They can call 911 and report it,” Sanford said. “We’ll come out and take a look.”

The dispatch system does receive a bump in call volume as much as three- to four-times as many calls as normal, he said, but the dispatch centers typically “staff up” to handle the traffic.

The Kirkland firefighters will be busy as well, with a full staff from noon to midnight for the downtown celebrations.

Several downtown streets will be closed beginning at 9:30 a.m. to allow for staging, and should reopen around 1:30 p.m.

The festivities begin at 10 a.m. at the Marina Park Pavilion with bike decorating, hat making and face painting before the kid’s parade at 11:30 a.m., which starts and finishes at Marina Park.

The 16th-annual community parade, carrying the “It’s A Small World” theme, is scheduled to begin at noon at the corner of Market Street and Central Way, with the grandstand at the intersection of Lake Street and Central Way.

Food and other vendors will be at Marina Park from 1 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., with music in the park scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

The city fireworks show is scheduled to take place at 10:15 p.m. just off Marina Park, and can be viewed from most downtown waterfront parks.