Independence Day in San Diego County

by Carole A. Lane on July 2nd, 2007

Are you looking for something to do this July 4th? It won’t be hard to find. The 4th of July is about the busiest day of the year here. Are you feeling patriotic? Athletic? Hungry? Feel like some old-fashioned family fun? How about all of the above? Do you know where you can go to see the fireworks?

Here’s a quick guide to July 4th celebrations that you can find around the county this Wednesday. As always, you’ll find more details about these events on our Calendar.

Parades

The 37th Annual Scripps Ranch Parade will start at 10 a.m., as will the Coronado Parade and the Julian Fourth of July Parade.

The Mira Mesa 4th of July Parade begins at 11:30 a.m.

At noon, there will be a parade in Old Town, as well as a flag raising.

Rancho Bernardo’s Spirit of the Fourth Parade will start at 3:30.

Sports & Fitness

The 30th Annual Scripps Ranch 10K/Fun Run/Bike Rides will start at 6 a.m.

At 7 a.m., the 2007 4th of July Coronado 15K/5K Run/Walk begins.

The Knickerbikers will take a 25 mile Freedom Ride at 9 a.m., in the Golden Triangle (San Diego).

The 33rd Annual Mira Mesa Parade will start after the 11:30 a.m. parade.

Local Festivals

Legoland in Carlsbad will host a water balloon toss, burlap sack races, paper airplane contests and other summer fun, ending with fireworks.

Chula Vista’s celebration includes live music, a local business exposition, a “Taste of the Bay,” a salute to the armed forces, the Miss South County pageant, a magic show, food contests, ending with a fireworks show.

Coronado will have a concert in Spreckels Park.

Independence Day also marks the end of the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar. Click their link to see their Fourth of July schedule of events.

The El Cajon City Recreation Department has big plans for a celebration in Kennedy Park, including selling glow necklaces, food, and other goodies, as well as providing a fun bounce.

In Encinitas, after a presentation of colors and prayer, a pancake breakfast will be served at Cottonwood Creek Park, followed by games and contests, including wheelbarrow and three-legged races, a baseball toss, and watermelon- and pie-eating contests.

Escondido’s celebration will include a picnic, clowns, bands, free museum tours, and fireworks.

In Fallbrook, head to The Grand Tradition for a community fair with painting, races, live music by Nitro Express and a silent auction, followed by a fireworks show.

Enjoy a free concert by the sea at Scripps Park near La Jolla Cove.

At the 9th Annual Lake Murray MusicFest, there will be a series of bands and a food fest to celebrate the 4th.

After their parade, the 33rd Annual Mira Mesa 4th of July Festival will celebrate with food booths and activities at Mira Mesa Recreation Center.

National City celebrates Independence Day a little early at Kimball Park, with carnival rides, games and food booths.

OFest in Oceanside is a multi-day celebration that started on June 29. On the 4th, you can attend their carnival and street fair, along with a free concert and fireworks at the beach.

An old fashioned Fourth of July celebration is being held in Poway, with fake gunfights, arts and crafts booths, and the running of the city’s century-old locomotive. Later in the day, there’ll be a picnic and fireworks at Poway High’s Stadium.

Old Town will hold a Historic Celebration with games, sack races, a pie eating contest and all kinds of old fashioned family fun. Re-enactors from San Pasqual Battlefield Volunteer Association will even fire off the cannon.

Olive Pierce Middle School is Fourth of July headquarters in Ramona, with a family-style picnic and a community fair with food booths, children’s games and activity booths.

Rancho Bernardo will host their own Spirit of the Fourth Festival, including musical entertainment, a beer garden, car show, a military display, a veteran’s memorial, food and games.

A 10-day Carnival is going on at Memorial Park in San Diego. What could be more American than an evening at PETCO Park?

San Marcos‘ celebration will feature the Fabulous Woodies playing surf and oldies music, and vendors will be selling hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, snow cones, funnel cakes and sodas and water.

The Maritime Museum’s Star of India Auxiliary hosts the annual Fourth of July barbecue on the Berkeley in San Diego Bay.

At Santee Salutes, you’ll find a fun zone with rides, carnival games, a bounce house and obstacle course, food vendors, a concert, and fireworks.

The 37th Annual Scripps Ranch Festival will include an ice cream social, music, clowns, inflatable fun jumps, and Star Wars Photos.

At 8:30 a.m., the celebration in Standley Park in University City will kick off with a pancake breakfast, followed by an old fashioned festival of fun.

Brengle Terrace Park is hosting Vista’s Fourth of July activities all day long with the band Dr. Feelgood and the Interns of Love performing in the Moonlight Amphitheatre stage until the fireworks show. If you don’t want to pack your own picnic, there will be a gourmet BBQ from Hennessey’s.

Fireworks

The earliest fireworks display will take place at 8:30 p.m. at La Jolla Country Club and Legoland in Carlsbad.

Fallbrook follows at 8:45, at The Grand Tradition.

The rest of the county’s fireworks will start at 9, including:

Chula Vista Marina
Glorietta Bay in Coronado
San Diego County Fair, Del Mar
Kennedy Park, El Cajon
Grape Day Park in Escondido
Sea World, Fiesta Island
Lake Murray Community Park
Near Mira Mesa High School
Mission Bay Yacht Club
Kimball Park in National City
Ocean Beach Pier
Oceanside Beach Pier
Del Mar Beach, Camp Pendleton, Oceanside
Ocean Beach, from the end of the pier
Poway High School
Olive Pierce Middle School in Ramona
Near Rancho Bernardo Heights Middle School
Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego
Barges off of Harbor Island, Shelter Island, the Embarcadero and Seaport Village/Coronado Landing in San Diego Bay
Bradley Park in San Marcos
Town Center Community Park Ball Fields, Santee
Valley Center High School
Brengle Terrace Park in Vista

At 9:30, the last official fireworks displays will be provided by Georges at the Cove in La Jolla and Sea World Mission Bay.

If none of these are to your liking, just pick a beach or any hill with a view, set your radio station to KYXY 96.5, and watch the fireworks up and down the coast, most of which are synchronized to this station’s music.

The Grunion are Running!

When the fireworks die down, the fun doesn’t have to end there. San Diego’s coastline beaches are expecting the grunion to arrive a little after midnight, sometime between 12:20 and 2:20 a.m . (If you’re over 16, be sure to bring your fishing license.) Of course, there’s no guarantee about the grunion, but even if they don’t arrive on schedule (or at all), it’s a good excuse to sit out under the stars and listen to the waves on a gorgeous San Diego night.

Have a Happy Independence Day, San Diego!

For more information about any of these celebrations, see our Calendar.

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The San Diego Traveler