No letdown this year: July 4th 'wet down' will return to this Charlotte-area community Jonathan Limehouse, The Charlotte Observer Jun. 30—Huntersville's biggest and wettest Fourth of July tradition is returning for its 17th year, but it took some convincing from community members to make it happen. In a tradition that started in 2002, the Huntersville Fire Department douses Independence Day revelers during the community's July 4 event. The "wet down" is a tradition that brings so many people to Birkdale that it often becomes hard to park, department spokesman Bill Suthard told the Observer on Monday. "You had to park across the street on the other side of Highway 73 just to get in," he said.