Fourth festivities sparkle

Dave Brooks and Elia Powers

It’s still more than a month away, but the buzz is building already.

Walk into a Laguna Beach park and you can see the family picnics

and smell the barbecue sauce. Take a stroll along a Newport Beach

boardwalk and you can see the tilted American flags and smell the

warm marine breeze.

Fourth of July is, perhaps, the signature holiday along the Orange

County coast, and residents can expect a full lineup of family fun

again this year.

On that day, the parade’s the thing.

Each year Huntington Beach hosts one of Orange County’s largest

Fourth of July celebrations, kicking off with an early morning run

along the coastline and ending with a fireworks display over the

water.

Surf City has celebrated the holiday for more than 101 years. It

was made famous throughout Southern California by its patriotic

parade down Main Street. Revelers reserve spaces on the busy

thoroughfare days in advance, waiving flags and signs as hundreds of

floats, bands and local personalities pass by.

While the parade is the highlight of the day, before any floats

appear, the parade route is taken over by hundreds of runners who

participate in the Surf City 5K run. Beginning at 7 a.m., racers

start at Worthy Park and race to the pier, before heading north up

Pacific Coast Highway and doubling back at 8th Street.

After the race and parade, Surf City turns into a gigantic block

party with hundreds of downtown residents celebrating with front yard

barbecues and parties. The Pierside Plaza will be the site of the

Fourth of July expo, complete with food, fun and games for the whole

family.

As sunset approaches, the crowds will take to Surf City’s beaches

for the fireworks show over the water. Beach seating is free, but

premium spots are available on the pier for $50 a seat.

LAGUNA BEACH

In Laguna Beach, it’s an all-American Fourth of July at the

Sawdust Festival. The festival is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on July

4 and entertainment includes Laguna Community Concert Band on the

main stage from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. playing patriotic favorites;

Kerry Getz, 1 to 5 p.m. on the Tavern Stage, playing rock-n-roll;

George Lawton at the Grill Stage, 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., classic

folk favorites; Lisa Haley and the Zydekats, playing traditional,

foot-tapping, body-moving zydeco from 1:30 to 5:50 p.m. on the Main

Stage. Special red-white-and-blue-themed art classes will take place

throughout the day. For information, call (949) 494-3030.

Laguna’s American Legion holds a free barbecue party for the

community at 11 a.m., Veteran’s Legion Hall at 384 Legion St.

Meat is donated by Center Meat Company.

And the day finishes with a fireworks show from Heisler Park

starting at dusk.

NEWPORT BEACH

In Newport Beach, some of the most stirring action will take place

on the water. For the 60th time, boats will circle Newport Harbor for

the Fourth of July Old Glory Boat Parade, which is sponsored by the

American Legion Yacht Club and American Legion Post 291.

“It’s a family event,” said Jon Reynolds, parade chair. “It’s

great for the kids and their parents. Everyone decorates their boats

in a patriotic way with flags.”

And don’t forget the Fourth of July food: The day starts at 7

a.m., when American Legion volunteers prepare a $10 pancake

breakfast. A $10 lunch of tri-tips or chicken begins around noon and

a $15 steak dinner will be prepared for those who buy meal tickets in

advance.

At the parade, more than 50 boat owners will dress their vessels

in red, white and blue. They will attach balloons, streamers and

flags and will blast patriotic tunes as the boats cruise along the

harbor. Prizes are awarded for spirit, decorations and music.

The evening will conclude with a live band and dancing, beginning

at 8:30 p.m. Reynolds said watching the parade is a good way to

prepare for the fireworks show at Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort,

another major event in Newport Beach.

The parade is free to enter and is open to the public. Boat owners

can obtain entry forms from the American Legion Yacht Club, Bahia

Corinthian Yacht Club, Balboa Yacht Club, Lido Isle Yacht Club,

Newport Harbor Yacht Club or the Orange County Sheriff’s Department

Harbor Patrol station.

The city of Newport Beach is again teaming up with Mariners

Elementary School Foundation to plan a parade on land.

“It’s your typical, old-fashioned neighborhood parade,” said Marie

Knight, director of recreation and senior services for the city of

Newport Beach. “There are old cars holding dignitaries and kids in

wagons. This is a longtime tradition; something we are proud to do.”

The event, which Knight said has been going on for at least 20

years, is located at Mariners Park and begins around 10 a.m. The

parade runs down Dover Street and ends at the park, where neighbors

take part in a festival with game stations, food booths and live

music.

Admission is free; the event ends around 1 p.m. Knight said

neighbors begin lining up well before 10 a.m. to get their spot to

watch the parade.

Knight, who grew up in the Midwest, said she likes the event

because it reminds her of Fourth of July the way it used to be at

home.

“We’ve kept the neighborhood roots of this parade,” she said.

And even small neighborhoods get involved in the Fourth of July

action. Balboa Peninsula Point, which longtime resident Dayna Pettit

said has about 800 homes, plans its own mini-parade each year.

Pettit said many of the children who live in the area dress up in

Mr. or Mrs. Statue of Liberty costumes, decorate small floats and

even put costumes on their dogs for the march, which begins at 1 p.m.

at the L Street Park.

The Newport Harbor High School marching band often makes an

appearance. Pettit estimates that up to 300 spectators attend the

event.