Duarte will hold what city officials are calling the city’s first Independence Day Celebration Wednesday evening at Duarte Sports Park in connection with passage of a ballot measure banning the discharge of fireworks by the public.
The celebration at the park’s upper baseball fields will begin at 6 p.m., with fireworks set to begin at 9 p.m. It will also include performances by the Latin funk-rhythm and blues SOTO Band, the hip-hop crew Duarte Dance and a play zone for youth. Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-El Monte, is scheduled to attend.
The City Council decision to hold the celebration on Independence Day Eve was made to ensure adequate public safety resources to enforce the ban on public discharge of fireworks and eliminate competing with other cities’ long-established events, according to Victoria Rocha, a management analyst with the city.
The eighth annual “Big Bang on the Bay” fireworks extravaganza will be held from 5:30-9:30 p.m. at the Boathouse on the Bay in Long Beach. The show over the Alamitos Bay Marina can be seen from Alamitos Bay beaches and the Peninsula area of Long Beach.
Fireworks will also follow Wednesday evening’s concert by Nile Rodgers & Chic at the Hollywood Bowl and the Lancaster JetHawks-Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino California League baseball game at The Hangar in Lancaster.
Fireworks shows will begin at 9 p.m. Wednesday in the following locations
— Cudahy Park, 5220 Santa Ana St., Cudahy;
— Fedde Sports Complex, Hawaiian Gardens;
— El Rancho High School, 6501 Passons Blvd., Pico Rivera;
— La Mirada Regional Park, 13707 Adelfa Drive, La Mirada;
— La Puente Park, 501 N. Glendora Ave., La Puente; and
— Norwalk City Hall, 12700 Norwalk Blvd., Norwalk.