Old-Fashioned Fourth of July offers patriotic fun

The City of Poway is offering a full day of fun activities on July 4.

The day will begin with the Old-Fashioned Fourth of July, continue with a veterans ceremony and conclude with fireworks at Poway High School.

The Old-Fashioned Fourth will begin at 10 a.m. and continue through 4 p.m. at Old Poway Park, 14134 Midland Road. This free celebration will feature live music, old-fashioned games, free children’s crafts, food, family fun and the return of wily train robbers as visitors ride the park’s train.

There will be family-friendly activities throughout the day, including a watermelon-eating contest at 11:30 a.m., a magic show with Extreme Rahim at 12:30 p.m., a “pie”-eating contest at 2 p.m. and a three-legged race at 3 p.m. Free children’s crafts will include Fourth of July hats, star wands, patriotic bracelets and more.

There will also be old-fashioned carnival games, including ring toss, knock over the milk jar, bean bag tic-tac-toe, bowling and more. It will be 50 cents per ticket, with one ticket per play. Proceeds from this benefit local teen programming.

Snow Ponies will be offering pony rides and a petting zoo on Midland Road for a nominal fee and visits and photos with Uncle Sam will be available around the fountain.

The Poway Valley Garden Club will be holding a plant sale and Fairytale Delight will offer face painting, glitter tattoos and balloon sculptures. John Wismont Productions will be drawing caricatures, and Usborne Books will be holding a book sale and children’s activities.

In the Porter House, there will be a model railroad display by Poway Station and a model train display from the Motor Men. Templars Hall will have a quilt display by the Friendship Quilters.

On the boardwalk, the Poway Arts and Crafts Guild will be holding a craft market and the Poway Historical Society will patriotic displays available for viewing in the Heritage Museum.

The entertainment at the event includes storyteller Marilyn McPhee as emcee. Jukebox Quartet will perform at 10:10 a.m., with the Heritage Dancers square dancing at 11:10 a.m. At noon, Tectonics will perform, with Jon Garner performing at 12:40 p.m. At 1:40 p.m., Added Attraction will perform, followed by The Jackstraws performing at 2:30 p.m. The Pomerado Community Band will close out the live entertainment at 3:10 p.m.

The Poway Midland Railroad will be running for a nominal fee, but watch out for train robbers! Train robbery re-enactments from the Shadow River Regulators and the Apache Canyon Gang will be happening throughout the day. Frontier Army of the West will fire its Gatling gun.

The Heritage Museum and the Nelson House will be open for viewing during the event as well, so come check out their patriotic displays.

The food available for sale this year will include wraps, subs and drinks from Ibo’s; Hawaiian Cuisine from Island Life; grilled cheese and dill pickles from Mad Munch; chicken and vegetable bowls from FOB Street Food; carnitas and carne asada tacos from Street Tacos; kettle corn from Firehouse Kettle; baked potatoes, corn on the cob, corn salad and nachos from Margie’s Shuck Wagon; savory and sweet crepes from La Creperie; a variety of arepas from Arepex Grill; and shaved Ice from Kona Ice.

Around the fountain, the Heritage Dancers will be selling cotton candy, popcorn and cookies; the Poway Woman’s Club will be selling root beer floats, sundaes, pie and brownies a la mode; Tran Smoothies will be selling smoothies and acai bowls; and Sweet Delights of Joy will sell cobblers, cake, mini pies, pralines and praline cookies.

In the park, the Lions Club will be selling a picnic lunch consisting of a hot dog, baked beans, chips, soda and water for a nominal fee. Active duty military with ID will receive their picnic lunch free.

There will be a free shuttle pick-up and drop-off service running throughout the event. Pick-up and drop-off locations will be at the Poway Adult School parking lot at 13626 Twin Peaks Road and Poway City Hall at 13325 Civic Center Drive.

At 11 a.m., head over to Poway Veterans Park and join VFW Post 7907 and the Poway Veterans Park Committee in a ceremony to remember those who served our country. The event will include the firing of the ceremonial cannon and the unveiling of the memorial wall.

Once the festivities at the park are over, head over to the Poway High School stadium, 15500 Espola Road, for the Fourth of July Fireworks Celebration from 6 to 10 p.m. Enjoy music provided by a DJ, games and family-friendly activities until the fireworks begin at 9 p.m. Entrance fee is $5 per person, children 11 and under are free. Early arrival is recommended to allow time for parking.

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