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Independence Day festivities planned today for Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria, Solvang, Lompoc, Santa Maria KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTODana Newquist’s 1937 Ford fire engine, seen in this 2020 photo, is a traditional part of the Fourth of July parade in Montecito. It’ll be back in today’s parade, which starts at 11:30 a.m. at Upper Manning Park.
Fireworks will soar tonight above Santa Barbara, Solvang and Santa Maria to celebrate the Fourth of July.
Tonight’s sounds and sights, along with a full day of activities, represent a world increasingly returning back to normal. Festivities start today with a patriotic bike parade in Lompoc, a barbecue in Carpinteria and a parade in Montecito, complete with an old-fashioned, patriotic fire engine.
Here’s the schedule, city by city, beginning with the earliest celebrations.
MONTECITO
7:30 a.m. The Montecito Fire Department’s pancake breakfast, a 20-year-tradition, is back at Fire Station 91, 595 San Ysidro Road. Tickets cost $10. Proceeds go to the Montecito Firefighters Association
11:30 a.m. The Montecito Parade begins at Upper Manning Park, 449 San Ysidro Road, and will end about an hour later at the upper Montecito village on East Valley Road. The procession includes Montecito Village Fourth co-founder Diane Pannkuk as the grand marshal and co-founder Dana Newquist’s 1937 Ford fire engine.
SANTA BARBARA
11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Food and vendor booths will be on Cabrillo Boulevard at the West Beach sidewalk.
Noon to 8:50 p.m. Live music and dance will be performed all day at the West Beach bandstand. The talent includes Detar Music Review, Drifting Dimension, Sweetheart Sisters, Why Golf Why, Brandi Lentini and Band, Slideways + La Boheme dancers, Fiesta dancers, Riding Out the Storm, False Puppet and Petty Set Go.
5 p.m. The Prime Time Band of Santa Barbara will perform a free concert of patriotic and popular music at the Sunken Gardens at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse, 1100 Anacapa St. Soloists Gary Johnson and Anikka Abbott will sing with the band. Those attending the concert can bring blankets, beach and lawn chairs, and picnic baskets. The program is presented in conjunction with the Santa Barbara-based Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation.
9 to 9:20 p.m. Fireworks will soar above West Beach. The fireworks soundtrack will be simulcast at Santa Barbara radio station KJEE, 92.9 FM. and live-streamed on keyt.com.
Parking: Santa Barbara waterfront parking lots will be open on the Fourth, but Stearns Wharf will be closed to vehicular traffic from 3:30 p.m. to 9:45 p.m.
COURTESY PHOTOA large crowd is expected to pack the Sunken Gardens at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse at 5 p.m. today for a Fourth of July concert starring the Prime Time Band of Santa Barbara. (This photo is from a Sunken Gardens event that did not involve the band.)GOLETA11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Old Fashioned Fourth of July will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Rancho La Patera & Stow House, 304 N. Carneros Road. The Goleta Valley Historical Society is hosting the event, which will feature live music by The Nombres and The Wrinkled Teenagers. There will also be tractor rides, face painting for the kids, vendors, a food truck, and a cash bar for beer and wine. And the event will feature an exhibit by the Central Coast Vintage Machinery Association. Admission costs $10 for adults and $5 for children.
CARPINTERIA
Noon to 4 p.m. Carpinteria Lions Club will host the annual community barbecue at Lions Park, 6197 Casitas Pass Road, Carpinteria. Tickets cost $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and $10 for children.
LOMPOC
11 a.m. A patriotic bike parade will go from the Lompoc Veterans Memorial Building, 100 E. Locust Ave., to Ryon Park, 800 W. Ocean Ave.
Noon to 4 p.m. A Fourth of July festival will take place at Ryon Park. There’ll be live music provided by The Fossils, food trucks, inflatables, face painting and more. Pets must be on a leash, and smoking, vaping, alcohol and fireworks won’t be permitted.
SOLVANG
2 to 10 p.m. The annual Fourth of July Festival and Fireworks Show will take place at Old Mission Santa Inès, 1760 Mission Drive, Solvang. The event will feature live entertainment by Men from Mars, Jump Start and DJ Hecktik, as well as a large kids zone with bounce houses, face painters, food vendors, craft beer, wine and more. Admission is $15, and children 12 and under are free when accompanied by an adult. Active military and immediate family members with ID are also free. All active military must show IDs at the entrance. You can purchase tickets at www.syvrotary.org.
9 p.m. Fireworks begin.
Parking: You can park at the free public lots at 1639 Copenhagen Drive, 464 Alisal Road and 1616 Oak St. There is no parking available at the mission.
Fireworks light up West Beach in Santa Barbara on Independence Day in 2017. They will soar there again at 9 tonight to celebrate the Fourth of July.SANTA MARIA
4 p.m. Gates open for the “Red, White and Boom” festival and fireworks show, which begins at 5 p.m. at the Elks Event Center, 4040 Highway 101. Admission costs $10 fee per vehicle. The program is presented by the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department and People for Leisure and Youth Inc., which promises activities for kids and food and refreshments for purchase.
5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The “Red, White and Boom” festival will feature live music at Mestizo.
8:45 p.m. Fireworks will begin.
News-Press staff writers Marilyn McMahon and Katherine Zehnder contributed to this report.
email: dmason@newspress.com
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