Fourth of July Celebrations: The Fourth of July is this Friday! Here are some places to celebrate the 4th of July in Orange County. Enter for city sponsored events unless noted. The daytime is usually with parades & festival areas. Night time would have a festival area opening later and a show with either fireworks or drones. Festivities will be shorthand for a festival area with food, vendors, music, and more. This will be combined with restaurants with views and cities that allow safe & sane fireworks. All events are on the 4th of July unless noted. All of the articles are cited from the OC Register and the respective city events pages. Check out the videos I added from my YouTube travel adventures as well.
The cover image was taken from fireworks I captured from Disneyland Railroad station at Tomorrowland, looking towards Autopia for the fireworks. I work in hotels during the evening shift during the previous years on the 4th of July, so I don’t have any pictures from any of the events except for Disneyland fireworks.
Anaheim is celebrating all day in the Anaheim Hills with the AM activities at Canyon High School with a 5K/10K, dog show, and a parade. The parade, starting at 1 pm, will go down the street to Peralta Park where the PM festivities will be held with food booths, entertainment, activities, and fireworks at 9 pm. The city of Anaheim will have 16 firework stands, which can only be allowed to be used from 10 am to 10 pm on the 4th of July only, and is not allowed on the hilly elevated areas due to fire risk.
Brea has their Country Fair at City Hall Park with parades for dogs & kids, music, and festivities from 7 am to 3 pm. Brea does not allow fireworks in the city and will be using drones to track down & fine anyone using fireworks in the city.
This to help protect the hilly areas of the cities, such as Carbon Canyon Regional Park’s redwood grove. Check out the video above for my video about Carbon Canyon.
Buena Park doesn’t have their own city sponsored celebration, however, Knott’s Berry Farm has their own fireworks that can be seen all around town. Admission is required to see it in the park. Fireworks are sold in the city and can only be used from 10 am to 10 pm.
Costa Mesa is celebrating the day before on July 3 at the OC Fairgrounds with a free event! Gates open at 4 pm with vendors & music, and fireworks at 9:30 pm. The city allows selling of fireworks and allows use from 4 pm to 10 pm on July 2, 3, and 4.
Dana Point will have a fireworks show at 9 pm with viewing at Dohaney State Beach with fireworks launched off the coast. You can see the fireworks from Olamedi’s and Chart House.
Fullerton will have a celebration at the Downtown Fullerton Plaza with a car show from 9 am to 12 pm, festivities from 5 to 9 pm, and fireworks at 9 pm. Fireworks will be sold and allowed to be used on the 4th from 12 pm to 10 pm.
Huntington Beach is having their 121st Independence Day Event with a 5K, parade, festival area, local home decorating contest, and fireworks with paid area to view it from the pier. You can catch a view of the fireworks from SeaSalt Honky Tonk,the Huntington Beach House, and Huntington Beach House. Fireworks are sold but cannot be used at the beach or public places, allowable from 12 pm to 10 pm on the 4th only.
Irvine will celebrate at the Great Park with a fun roll a a wheeled device on the Great Park Timeline, festivities, and a fireworks & drone show ending! For a fee, you can get seats to see the Pacific Symphony perform to the music at their temporary 5,000 capacity music venue, Great Park Live.
Laguna Beach: Fireworks are illegal in the city of Laguna Beach due to the high fire risk of this hilly city. Instead, the city of Laguna Beach is putting on a drone light show at Heisler Park at 9pm and festivities starting at 5 pm.
Laguna Niguel is having a full day celebration and into the night time at Crown Valley Park. However, the park has been designated as a fire risk zone, so the city had to switch to drones for their night time show.
Mission Viejo will have a Street Faire & Fireworks Spectacular from 12 pm to 9 pm when the fireworks begin, and you can see it from Hacienda On the Lake restaurant.
Newport Beach will have fireworks at the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort & Marina at 9 pm. You can take in the fireworks at The View & Edge Bar at the Vea Hotel. There will be a bike parade and festivities at Channel Place Park during the AM hours.
Orange is having some unfortunate financial issues, so they cannot do any city sponsored events. However, you can watch the fireworks from the hilltop Orange Hill Restaurant with breathtaking views of the valley below for $35. Fireworks will be sold in the city, which can only be used in the valley areas due to wildfire concerns, and are allowable on the 4th from 12 pm to 10 pm.
San Juan Capistrano is having a fireworks show at Marco Foster Intermediate School’s athletic fields with music, games, vender & food booths, contests, and fireworks at 8:45 pm.
Santa Ana will have their celebration at Centennial Park from 5 pm to 9pm with festivities and fireworks at 8:30 pm. Fireworks are being sold and only allowed to be used at various hours from July 1 to 4.
Tustin will celebrate at Tustin High School Stadium with music & festivities from 5 pm to 9pm, and fireworks at 9 pm.
Yorba Linda will have festivities from 5 pm to 9 pm & fireworks at 9 pm at Veterans Park.
As always, there is always the Disneyland fireworks show at 9:35 pm with $196 admission to see “Disney’s Celebrate America!-A Fourth of July Concert In the Sky.” If you don’t want to pay admission, you can crowd around the Esplanade between the parks for free.
You can see the Disneyland fireworks from various roof top bars around the Anaheim Resort area. Calaca Mama’s Patios, a local Mexican restaurant that used to be Captain Kidd’s next to the Best Western Park Place Inn. JW Marriott’s Parkestry Rooftop Bar on the 11th floor, Top of The V at the Viv Hotel, Westin’s RISE rooftop bar, and The Fifth Rooftop Bar at the Grand Legacy at the Park Hotel. We can use our 20% food & beverage at the Marriott branded hotel restaurants at Parkestry, Top of the V, and RISE.
Or you can be like me and watch all your neighbors shoot off their own fireworks all night long…
If you live or visit outside of the county, check with your local city, county, or community pages if they are having any celebrations. Please make sure you have a safe and fun 4th of July!
AntSol Travel 