Surf City set to celebrate

Huntington Beach’s annual Fourth of July parade and festival will feature more than 125 participants, including floats, performers and military groups.

Themed “Surf, Sun & Celebrate,” this year’s event will encompass the personality of Huntington Beach, said parade assistant director Stacey Newton.

“Huntington Beach is all about surfing, being in the sun, and the event will celebrate the Fourth of July,” she said.

The celebration will welcome celebrity guests Lou Ferrigno (“The Incredible Hulk”) and radio personality Tim Conway Jr., as well as a slew of area-school performing-arts groups and military personnel, including Pearl Harbor survivors.

Parade sponsors, including NuVision Federal Credit Union, Huntington Beach Hospital and Boeing, will display floats. Marina High School will also celebrate its 50th anniversary with its double-decker bus entry in the parade.

The parade, which begins at 10 a.m. Thursday and lasts about two hours, will take place on Main Street. Numbered streets and the roads along the parade route will be closed beginning at 5 a.m.

Newton said Main Street will be closed to traffic the entire day, and Pacific Coast Highway will open after the parade until 7 p.m.

Newton recommends early arrival because of the anticipated traffic and crowds. She said attendees can begin staking out spots at 7 a.m., and attendance is free. Parking will be available on the beach lots for a $25 flat rate and in the Main Street Promenade parking structure for $27. Metered parking spaces will also be available.

“If you can ride your bike or carpool, that would be your best bet,” she said.

Before the parade, a pancake breakfast will be held at Lake Park from 6:30 to 11 a.m. Cost is $5. The Surf City 5K Run & Fitness Expo will be held from 7 a.m. to noon.

Fireworks will launch at 9 p.m. over the ocean. Newton said many spots along the beach are ideal for viewing, and limited seating will beg available on the pier for $10.

Accompanying the parade and fireworks will be a festival Thursday through Sunday at the beach featuring food, vendors and entertainment. New this year will be a kids’ arts-and-crafts area provided by Home Depot.

Nonprofits will also be present at the event. The McKenna Claire Foundation, which raises awareness for pediatric brain cancer, will sell lemonade for its cause.

For more information, including exact street closures, visit https://www.hb4thofjuly.org.