RUMFORD — Independence Day had a rare do-over Thursday night.

A day after severe thunderstorms forced officials to postpone the July 4 fireworks display Wednesday, residents returned to Hosmer Field for a belated birthday celebration.

Warm weather and partly sunny skies greeted those filling the field. The crowd grew steadily throughout the evening, drawn by live music, a gymnastics demonstration and a magic show that preceded the fireworks display.

Selectman Greg Buccina said he opted to postpone the July 4 fireworks display on Wednesday.

“I made the decision not to go forward for safety’s sake. We had a lot of lightning in the area, a lot of aluminum bleachers and a lot of kids,” he said. “There’s no sense in taking a chance of getting somebody hurt for fireworks.”

In the end, Buccina said, Wednesday’s storms moved out of Rumford in time for the fireworks display. Had the fireworks proceeded, however, spectators would have gotten wet.

“We probably could have had them but the field would have been wet,” Buccina said. “So we just made a decision to postpone them until tonight and hopefully all of the vendors are happy and they’re all back, and we just need people to come down.”

Buccina said he expected more than 5,000 people to attend the fireworks, which is roughly the same number that attended the show in 2011. Several hundred people had already descended on Hosmer Field by 7 p.m., and the crowd continued to swell as the sun inched its way toward the horizon.

Thursday’s replay wouldn’t have been possible without a cast of vendors and volunteers who decided to give up a second evening to make the holiday celebration happen. Barbara Arsenault, a member of the Rumford Fireworks Committee, said she was happy to see her fellow volunteers return Thursday.

“It’s hard because you have volunteers that have commitments the next day and everything,” Arsenault said. “But people were really nice and they came back and made time to volunteer again today.”

As the sun began to set and kids played carnival games on Hosmer Field, the spirit of Independence Day was alive and well.

“People are starting to come, we have our volunteers,” Arsenault said. “We’re all ready to go, and the kids are enjoying the games. Everybody gets a prize.”