Fourth of July celebrations to mark America’s 249th birthday will be hosted across Riverside County Friday.
Because the Fourth of July falls on a Friday this year, some municipalities have presented pyrotechnics spectaculars ahead of time, and a couple are planned afterward.
Corona’s traditional “Main Street U.S.A Parade” will begin at 9 a.m. Friday at Ontario and Main streets, featuring law enforcement units, fire engines, marching bands, military hardware and show animals. The procession, which typically draws around 4,000 spectators, will travel a mile, concluding at Olive and Main streets around noon. A fireworks show is set for 9 p.m. in Santana Regional Park.
Moreno Valley’s Fourth of July Parade will get underway around 9:30 a.m. at Alessandro Boulevard and Frederick Street, concluding two hours later on Towngate Boulevard. The celebration will continue at 2 p.m. outside the Civic Center Amphitheater on Frederick Street, where a family friendly event is planned, featuring food vendors and kids’ activities. Fireworks are scheduled after sunset.
At 10 a.m., Temecula’s “Star Spangled Parade” will proceed, 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 northbound along Old Town Front Street. 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, generally beginning at 9 p.m. July 4:
— Banning, Nicolet Middle School, 101 E. Nicolet St.;
— Beaumont, Town Center, Sixth and Eighth streets;
— Indio, Empire Polo Grounds, 81-800 51st Ave.;
— Lake Elsinore, Lakepoint Park, 420 Lakeshore Drive;
— Palm Desert, Civic Center Park, Fred Waring Drive and San Pablo Avenue;
— Palm Springs, Sunrise Park, 1901 E. Baristo Road;
— Palm Springs Stadium, 1901 Baristo Road;
— Rancho Mirage, Agua Caliente Casino Resort & Spa, 32-250 Bob Hope Drive;
— Riverside, La Sierra Park, 5215 La Sierra Ave.;
— Riverside, Mount Rubidoux, Mount Rubidoux Drive and Ninth Street; and
— Temecula, Pechanga Resort Casino, 45000 Pechanga Parkway.
The city of Desert Hot Springs will hold its celebration after dark on July 5 in Mission Springs Park, 14-510 Palm Drive. Additionally, the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians will host its fifth annual Independence Day festivities that day, beginning at 6 p.m., with musical entertainment and a food fare, followed by pyrotechnics at 9 p.m. at Coachella Crossroads, adjacent to Spotlight 29, near the junction of Dillon Road and Interstate 10.
In Riverside County, private parties are prohibited from using fireworks except in Blythe, 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.
Under county Ordinance 858, which was amended by the Board of Supervisors in response to an outbreak of blazes in 2020, fines for illegally storing, transporting or setting off fireworks can range from $1,000 to $5,000.
Any person who triggers a brush fire due to the illegal use of fireworks can be held responsible for all suppression costs.
Despite the potential penalties imposed by the county and cities, fireworks are routinely set off in large numbers by individuals in unincorporated communities and municipalities countywide every Fourth of July.