Parades and fireworks celebrating America’s 243rd birthday are planned throughout Riverside County, beginning this weekend.
The city of Murrieta will be combining Fourth of July festivities with a 28th birthday bash for the municipality, which incorporated in 1991. There will be food vendors, a kids play zone, music and pyrotechnics after nightfall.
The city of Menifee’s traditional “Independence Day Celebration,” to be held Saturday at Wheatfield Park between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m., will feature children’s activities, live music and fireworks after sundown.
Pre-Independence Day celebrations will continue Wednesday.
At 7:30 p.m., the Riverside National Cemetery will host its annual “Concert for Heroes,” featuring low-key patriotic hymns and favorites, respectful of the surroundings. The concert, now in its 19th year, is the only one of its kind performed in a national cemetery anywhere in the country, according to organizers. A fireworks display is planned over the pond near the amphitheater after the music.
At 4 p.m. Wednesday, the Jurupa Area Recreation & Park District will hold its 22nd annual Fourth of July fest, featuring games, food and fireworks after dark on the athletic field of Patriot High School, 4355 Camino Real.
The city of Coachella is scheduled to host a pre-Independence Day celebration at Bagdouma Park, with family-oriented activities from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., when the fireworks show will get underway, and Fantasy Springs Resort & Casino in Indio will light up the skies over Eagle Falls Golf Course at 8:45 p.m. Wednesday.
On the Fourth of July, events are planned at a string of venues countywide.
Corona’s traditional “Main Street U.S.A Parade” will begin about 9 a.m. at Ontario and Main streets, featuring law enforcement units, fire engines, marching bands, military hardware and show animals. The procession will travel about a mile, concluding at Olive and Main streets around noon. A fireworks show is set for 9 p.m. in Santana Park, 598 Santana Way.
Moreno Valley’s Fourth of July parade will get underway about 9:30 a.m. at Alessandro Boulevard and Frederick Street, concluding two hours later on Towngate Avenue. The celebration will continue at 2 p.m. in Morrison Park, near the intersection of Dracaea Avenue and Morrison Street, where a “Family FunFest” is planned, complete with several rock bands, a beer garden and kids’ activities. Fireworks are scheduled after sunset.
The city of San Jacinto’s Independence Day Parade & Street Festival will start about 9 a.m. at Main Street and Camino Los Banos, traveling a half-mile west on Main to Jordan Avenue. Tractors, classic cars, motorcycles and military equipment will be in the parade, led by members of each service branch, who will stop outside American Legion Post 848, where a street fair is planned. Festivities will move to Valley-Wide Recreation & Sport District Regional Park, 901 W. Esplanade Ave., where fireworks will be displayed after dark.
At 10 a.m., Temecula’s “Star Spangled Parade” will get underway, featuring the Temecula Valley Mounted Posse, Veterans of Foreign Wars, members of the American Legion, the Riverside County Fire Department, the Boy Scouts of America and other organizations. The parade will run east to west, from Old Town Front and Second streets to Sixth Street and Moreno Road. There will be pyrotechnics in Ronald Reagan Sports Park after dark.
In addition to the above venues, fireworks shows are scheduled at the following locations, starting at 9 p.m. next Thursday:
— Banning, Nicolet Middle School, 101 E. Nicolet St.;
— Beaumont, Stewart Park, Ninth Street and Orange Avenue;
— Blythe, Colorado River Fairgrounds, 591 N. Olive Blvd.;
— Canyon Lake, Holiday Harbor, 22-200 Canyon Club Drive;
— Lake Elsinore, off the levee, Lakeshore Drive;
— Lake Elsinore, Storm Stadium, 500 Diamond Drive;
— Norco, Silver Lakes, 5555 Hamner Ave.;
— Palm Desert, Civic Center Park, Fred Waring Drive and San Pablo Avenue;
— Palm Springs Stadium, 1901 E. Baristo Road;
— Rancho Mirage, Agua Caliente Casino, Resort & Spa, 32-250 Bob Hope Drive;
— Riverside, Evergreen Memorial Historic Cemetery, 14th and Pine streets;
— Riverside, La Sierra Park, 5215 La Sierra Ave.;
— Riverside, Mount Rubidoux Park, 4706 Mt. Rubidoux Drive; and
— Temecula, Pechanga Resort Casino, 45000 Pechanga Parkway.
In Riverside County, private parties are prohibited from using fireworks except in Blythe, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs and Indio, where so-called “safe and sane” fireworks, certified by the state fire marshal, can be sold to the public.
The devices are mostly pyrotechnics that don’t explode or fly, including sparklers, ground spinners, fountains, snappers and caps. Municipalities can authorize fireworks demonstrations, and the county grants permits for shows in unincorporated communities.
Under county Ordinance 858, fines for illegally storing, transporting or setting off fireworks can range from $500 to $1,000.
According to the fire department, any person who triggers a brush fire due to the illegal use of fireworks will be held responsible for all suppression costs.