20th Anniversary Fireworks Display
Promises Food and Fun Along West Beach

SANTA BARBARA, CA (June 11, 2014)—The City of Santa Barbara will again host the traditional beachside Independence Day fireworks show on Friday, July 4. Beginning at 9pm, the 25-minute pyrotechnic display will be accompanied by offerings from local food vendors, and all of West Beach will be open to the public for the evening’s festivities.

Social Media Updates

Please join the City’s Facebook event for the July 4th Fireworks Show to stay connected and informed, or to invite friends and family to join you at the waterfront!

Transportation

As in past years, the Santa Barbara waterfront will likely be packed with spectators by early afternoon, with further crowds heading for the beach once the 1pm the Spirit of 76 parade along State Street concludes. Parking will certainly be difficult in the downtown area, and traffic in the vicinity will be heavy as pedestrians make their way to and from the waterfront.

Alternate transportation is available to the public to make attending the fireworks more convenient: the Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District (MTD) will run buses and shuttles (visit sbmtd.gov or call (805) 963-3364 for the latest MTD schedule information), while Bici Centro will provide eight bike racks for those wishing to ride their bicycles to the event.

Event Safety

The City of Santa Barbara would like to remind spectators to be safe while they enjoy the festivities; no other fireworks are permitted, and alcohol, glass containers, pit digging, open fires, dogs on the beach, and parking adjacent to the railroad tracks are prohibited. There will be no parking on either side of Cabrillo Boulevard, from State Street to Castillo Street. We look forward to a fun, safe, and sane community gathering.

Other Local Events

The City of Santa Barbara is pleased to provide information regarding two Fourth of July events sponsored by local nonprofits; both of the following events are free to the public:

State Street Parade

The Annual 4th of July Parade, organized by local nonprofit the Spirit of ’76 Association, will begin at 1pm, proceeding down State Street from Micheltorena to Cota Streets. Over 175 nonprofits will participate, with this year’s parade theme focusing on safeguarding our nation’s Bill of Rights. For more information on the parade, please visit spiritof76sb.org.

Free Concert at the Courthouse Sunken Gardens

Another community favorite is the Free Annual July 4th Concert, which starts at 5pm in the County Courthouse Sunken Gardens. This year’s concert will feature a one-hour show performed by the West Coast Symphony Orchestra; the concert is made possible by the support of the Cielo Foundation for the Performing Arts.

Press Contacts

At the City of Santa Barbara
Summers Case, scase@santabarbaraca.gov
Parks and Recreation Department Marketing and Communications

New! Youth Ballroom Dance Program

Free Youth Ballroom Dance Classes Next Week!

Are your kids fans of “Dancing with the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance?”

Get them moving and inspired with our new class series, taught by championship ballroom dancers Anastasia Banderovskaya and Vasily Golovin!

You can even have your kids try out the program with free classes on February 26 and 28.
At $66 ($60 for City of Santa Barbara residents) for the entire month of March plus those two free classes and the expertise of world-class instructors, this new Parks and Recreation offering is an unbeatable value.

Aside from huge amounts of fun, your kids will reap great benefits from the program. Instructors Anastasia and Vasily tell us ballroom dance encourages good posture and body alignment, and is an excellent cardiovascular workout that uses all the major muscle groups. Kids and teens also learn strong, positive communication skills as they work together to master new skills in pairs and groups.

Schedule

Wednesdays and Fridays:
Ages 4–6: 3–3:45pm
Ages 7–10: 3:45–4:30pm
Ages 11–17: 4:30–5:15pm

How to Sign Up 

Go to http://bit.ly/1fnnOpX to see more information on the classes and sign up with eRecreation! 

FREE Zumba Class Saturday, May 12

To celebrate the one year anniversary of the exhilarating ZUMBA class with Josette at the Carrillo Recreation Center, everyone is invited to celebrate with a free class this Saturday, May 12 at 11am. Find out why everyone is saying that Zumba with Josette is the best class in town! Get fit, happy and healthy! Ditch the workout and join the party! Come on down to 100 E. Carrillo Street and join us!

City Parks Tours this Friday, May 11

As part of National Public Gardens Day this Friday, May 11, the City of Santa Barbara is offering free guided tours of three of the City's favorite parks:
Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens:  Tours at 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. Grant Castelberg, the garden’s landscape designer, leads the noon and 2 p.m. tours. Anne-Marie Castelberg, author of Alice’s Garden, conducts a book signing at those times. Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens is considered the “crown jewel” of City parks and features an extensive botanical collection, koi pond, sensory garden, and more.
Chase Palm Park: Tours at 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. A limited number of free passes for rides on the 1917 Allan Herschell Carousel are available at the Carrillo Recreation Center, 100 E. Carrillo Street, generously sponsored by the PARC Foundation. Chase Palm Park is the City’s most recently developed park and features fountains, a creek, lagoon, large meadows, native plantings, and the historic carousel.
Mission Historical Park and A.C. Postel Rose Garden: Free docent-led tours at 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m., and 2 p.m. The park consists of ruins of the Old Mission’s reservoir, aqueduct, tannery, vats, grist mill and pottery; and the rose garden features a collection of more than 1500 accredited, All-American Roses.
For complete information on all of the day's events offered by numerous nonprofit garden destinations, visit www.sbpublicgardens.org