Independence Day:  July 4, 2009

 

It's still too early for most places to have published plans for Independence Day 2009, but feel free to add things from 2008 that you did (along with comments on what you thought of them, if you like), and/or that you expect will happen again next summer.  Most of these celebrations are held year after year, so if you know they happened in 2008, it's probably safe to plan for them in 2009.

 

For our internationals, here's an explanation of Independence Day.

 

Please list fireworks displays in the Bay area, and any other holiday events that you might know of.  Please keep them in alphabetical order, and include the city in parentheses after the main title.  If you discover that an event has sold out, please mark it "SOLD OUT", but don't delete it.

 

A long list of events in the San Francisco area can be found at http://www.sfgate.com/listings/macroevent.php?events,m45.  The entries often bury the headline, but there's good information there.

 

BART and Caltrain usually add extra trains for July 4, so check their sites for the latest updates.

 

Remember:  it gets cool at night in the Bay area even during July, especially if you're on San Francisco Bay itself.  Bring a jacket.  Oh, and call your mother, she worries.

 

4th of July @ the Berkeley Marina (Berkeley)

Date:  July 4, 2008

Time:  11 AM to 9:30 PM 

Cost:  FREE

Web Site:  http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/CalendarEventMain.aspx?calendarEventID=9353  There's more information at http://www.anotherbullwinkelshow.com/4th-of-july/4th-of-july.html; this is unusually clear and informative as 4th of July event sites go.

Description:  The address for the Berkeley Marina is 201 University Avenue, Berkeley.  Decorate your bike, stroller, segway, or head with recyclable materials from - I am not making this up - "Madame Ovary's Booth".  (It might be worth driving to Berkeley just to find out what that's about.)  Sack races, a water slide, food booths, live entertainment, art and craft booths, massages...  There are free sailboat rides from 1 PM to 4 PM, dragon boat rides from 2 PM to 6 PM (no explanation of what a "dragon boat" is), and fireworks at 9:30 PM off the end of the Berkeley Pier.

 

Blue & Gold Fleet Fireworks Cruise (San Francisco)

Date:  July 4, 2008

Time:  7:30 PM

Cost:  Advance tickets are $33 ($25 for children), same day tickets are $44 ($33 for children).

Web Site:  http://www.blueandgoldfleet.com/Special/index.cfm#c2

Description:  Watch the fireworks from yet another ship on San Francisco Bay.  The ships board at Piers 39 and 41 in the Fisherman's Wharf district; the first ship begins boarding at 7:30 PM and sails at 8 PM, with other ships following.  Snacks and drinks are sold on board.  Some ships are specified as being alcohol free, so presumably alcohol is available on the others.

 

Family Festival at The Cannery (San Francisco)

Date:  July 4, 2008

Time:  11 AM to 8 PM

Cost:  FREE

Web Site:  http://www.delmontesquare.com/events_n_entertainment/?event_id=142

Description:  The Cannery is a location in Del Monte Square.  It was, at one time, a working cannery (hence the name), but now it's a tourist location filled with shops and restaurants.  There will be face painting available from 11 AM until 3 PM by someone called "Janelle the Clown" (which scares me just a little), and live music throughout the day.

 

Family Past Times Program (Redwood City)

Date:  July 4, 2008

Time:  10 AM to 4 PM

Cost:  $1 to $2 (distinction not specified) 

Web Site:  http://www.sfgate.com/listings/event.php?events,e277661  The museum's own event calendar at http://www.historysmc.org/event.html does not have a July listing posted as of July 1.

Description:  The San Mateo County History Museum (at 2200 Broadway, Redwood City, CA) invites you to celebrate Independence Day by making whirligigs, parachutes, American flags, and hand-cranked ice cream.  This looks interesting, but it would be nice if the museum itself listed the event.

 

Free Concert at the Spreckles Temple of Music (San Francisco)

Date:  July 4, 2008

Time:  1 PM

Cost:  FREE

Web Site:  http://www.mindspring.com/~nemoyten/ggpb/Upcoming_Concerts.html

Description:  Listed on the web site as "A Patriotic Spectacle celebrating Independence Day".  The Spreckles Temple of Music may sound like some fruitcakey place that's trying to sell you personality-enhancing courses on "How Not To Be Dark", but it's actually a fairly impressive outdoor band shell.  It's located in the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park.  The concert starts at 1 PM and ends between 2:30 and 2:45.

 

Independence day on the USS Hornet (Alameda)

Date:  July 4, 2008

Time:  10 AM to 9 PM

Cost:  adults $22 ($25 at the door), children $12, museum members free (an individual membership is $50)

Web Site:  http://www.uss-hornet.org/news_events/index.html 

Description:  In addition to the normal charms of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, there will be live music from 1 PM to 9 PM, carnival games, a flight simulator, and the usual array of extremely tasty but ridiculously unhealthy festival food.  Although there will NOT be a fireworks display at the ship herself, fireworks displays elsewhere in the Bay will be visible from the deck.  (Fireworks start around 9:15 PM.)

 

The Pardee Patriotic Picnic and Stereopticon Ice Cream Social (Oakland)

Date:  July 4, 2008

Time:  12 PM to 5 PM

Cost:  Adults $18, $3 off in costume, $3 off online; children $8, $2 off in costume, $2 off online

Web Site:  http://www.the3dfairy.com/  The museum's main site is at http://www.pardeehome.org/.

Description:  Oakland is a bit far from Moffett Field for a 4th of July celebration, but this is just eccentric enough to be worth including here.  The Pardee Home (at 672 Eleventh Street, Oakland, CA) is dedicated to the preservation of the year 1908.  As the flyer says, "This is your grandmother's picnic."  Expect food, music, games, and entertainment from the early 20th century.

If you decide to go in costume, your options are extensive.  You can dress in period 1908 clothes, because the house is stuck in the year 1908.  You can go in classical Greek or Roman outfits, because in the early 20th century Greco-Roman mythology was the in thing.  You could wear national or ethnic clothing of the time, and pass yourself off as a foreign dignitary.  Since it's Independence Day, you can party (and dress) like it's 1776.  You can put on get-ups from Mother Goose, fairy tales, or Oz, because it amuses the children (and Oz was another big deal in 1908).

 

Pier 39 Fourth of July Waterfront Celebration (San Francisco)

Date:  July 4, 2008

Time:  1 PM to 9:30 PM

Cost:  FREE

Web Site:  http://www.pier39.com/Events/events.htm

Description:  Pier 39 is in the middle of the Fisherman's Wharf district.  It's a very tourist-heavy area, but the fireworks are supposed to be good.  There's live music before the show:  "Big Bang Beat" from 1 to 4 PM and "Tainted Love" from 6 to 9:30 PM.  Fireworks start at roughly 9:30 PM, and will be shot from a barge off of the pier.  Some sources say the barge will be by Pier 39 itself, others by the Municipal Pier, but either way they should be visible for miles.

Review:

(Michael L.)  This is not a first-hand review, as I didn't attend; if you did attend, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.  However, I've heard from several people who went either in 2008 or previous years that fog frequently obscures the San Francisco fireworks displays.  For anything that goes above the fog deck, you'll see vague flashes of light and not much more.

 

Red & White Fleet Fireworks Cruise (an Francisco)

Date:  July 4, 2008

Time:  7:30 PM

Cost:  $47 online (available online only until 11 AM; any remaining tickets will be sold on-site)

Web Site:  http://www.redandwhite.com/special_cruise_july_4_fireworks_2008.asp

Description:  Watch the fireworks from a ship on San Francisco Bay.  The ships board at Pier 43 1/2 in the Fisherman's Wharf district.  (That sounds like a stop for the Hogwarts Express, but it's apparently a real pier.)  Two ships board at 7:30 PM and sail at 7:45 PM, and two more ships board at 8 PM and sail at 8:15 PM.  Snacks and drinks are sold on board; no outside food or beverages are permitted.

 

San Jose America Festival

Date:  July 4, 2008

Time:

Cost: FREE admission, but parking isn't free. 

Web Site:  http://www.americafestival.com/july4.html

Description:  The San Jose America Festival, held each year on the 4th of July, celebrates the diverse and numerous communities of which America is built.  The 2008 event showcased a new beneficiary:  Habitat for Humanity Silicon Valley.  Rides and games designed especially for children are in  Kidland, an area focused on young fun.  The entire day culminates in a  spectacular fireworks show at 9:30pm that draws record crowds and is broadcast live throughout the Bay Area.

Reviews:  

(Jessica C.) I went to this in 2008.  REALLY busy and crowded.  Good firework displays (cubes!  hearts!  smiley faces!). 

The actual festival part was incredibly crowded and the lines for most food/drink were at least 15-30 minutes.

We got there at about 8:00 pm to watch the 9:30 pm show.  To watch the show, we just walked out to the street, which had just been closed off, on S. Almaden Blvd between W. San Carlos St. and Balbach St/Woz Way.  Walked to the car right when the fireworks ended and got out of the traffic within 30 minutes.  The traffic looked terrible, though, since about 45,000 were said to be there.  The public transit system was trying to handle everyone, but looked really really crowded.  Parked in the garage by the Hilton for $12. The event takes volunteers.

 

Shoreline Amphitheatre Fireworks Show (Mountain View)

Date:  July 4, 2008

Time:  8 PM

Cost:  $24 lawn seating, $29.50 reserved seats; possibly some FREE areas (plus parking fees)

Web Site:  http://www.livenation.com/event/getEvent/eventId/326439  (The official site address is www.shorelineamp.com but that defaults to livenation.)

Description:  Best guess - and feel free to correct this if you come up with something better - is that the ticket prices are for entertainment before the fireworks, and the fireworks themselves are free.  The Shoreline Amphitheatre is a well-regarded stadium, but it's also a poster child for confusing and annoying web design.

Fireworks are hard to hide, so the odds are good that there's somewhere you can see them without getting charged, but you're on your own.  The official word is that the doors open at 5 PM for the "Radio Disney Family Festival", followed by a San Francisco Symphony Concert at 8 PM, followed by the fireworks.  It's hard to imagine anyone would expect they could charge $25 or $30 for a fireworks show, so presumably that part's free, but that's not stated anywhere.

Incidentally, the livenation people have a really thorough policy on what you can and can't bring with you.  Still cameras are OK, so long as they don't have detachable lenses (that's "for your safety", though if you can tell me how not having detachable lenses makes me safe I'll be very impressed).  Lawn chairs are OK, but only if the seat height is 6 inches or less.  Bags or backpacks are subject to inspection.  Food can be brought in, but only in a gallon sized plastic bag (one per person).  Beverages have to be in sealed plastic bottles, and of course alcohol is forbidden.  No video cameras, audio recorders, laser pointers, guns, knives, chains, "spiked items" (the mind boggles), mace, fireworks, WMDs, picks, shovels, or implements of destruction.

OK, so I made up a couple of those last ones...

 

 

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Other options:

 

Going to the top of a local hill and watching all the shows

Review:  (Jessica C.) I did this in 2007.  Just went to the end of Rainbow Drive in Cupertino and walked up to the highest point.  Could see most displays across Silicon Valley, but all were tiny and far away of course.  At around 9:45 we saw 30-40 simultaneous shows.  Might bring a flashlight to get back down.  Be careful not to trespass. 

 

Watching the Mountain View show from Moffett Field

 

Review:  (Michael L.) I did this in 2008.  The Mountain View fireworks are visible from much of Moffett Field.  Some of the open areas south and east of Hangar One are excellent viewing spots.  There's no traffic, hardly anyone is there, you've got a good view, and it's free.  You don't even need to be a US citizen to get there, but you should probably have some kind of business on Moffett Field or the guards at the gate will wonder what the heck you think you're doing.  Bring a lawn chair, a cooler, a hibachi, some friends, it's all good.