Festivities Set From Dawn Into Night July 4

Westsiders will be able to celebrate Independence Day from morning to night on Tuesday.

Santa Monica’s 5 a.m. “Dawn’s Early Light” at Santa Monica Beach will kick off the celebration. Other festivities are planned in Culver City, Marina del Rey, Pacific Palisades and Hollywood.

Santa Monica began its unusual Fourth of July observance three years ago when the fireworks show was switched from nightfall to daybreak in response to complaints from city police and fire officials about unmanageable crowds--as many as 500,000 people.

About 200,000 spectators are expected for this year’s early morning celebration.

Beach parking lots open at 3 a.m. Radio station KSRF-FM will broadcast traffic and parking information, as well as the performance of the Los Angeles Pops Orchestra. The Pops will play on the beach just north of the Santa Monica Pier.

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A few miles away, the Pacific Palisades Americanism Parade will begin at 2 p.m. at Via de la Paz and Bowdoin Street, continuing onto Sunset Boulevard then down to Drummond Street and to Toyopa Drive, ending at Palisades Recreation Center. Laker basketball player Orlando Woolridge is the grand marshal.

Free parking will be available at the Palisades High School parking lot and a free shuttle provided by Mort’s Deli and Norris Hardware will be available between the parade route and the parking lot.

A fireworks display will be held at 8:30 p.m. at the Palisades High School football stadium, 15777 Bowdoin St. A donation is requested.

In Culver City, the Exchange Club is sponsoring a fireworks display featuring music from the 1940s to 1960s. Gates open at 6 p.m. with the pyrotechnics scheduled to start at 9:15 p.m. at the Culver City High School football stadium, Harter Avenue and Braddock Drive. A donation is requested.

Marina del Rey’s annual fireworks show will begin at 9 p.m. The event is co-sponsored by the Marina Chamber of Commerce and the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors. A Dixieland band will perform at 2 p.m. at Burton Chace Park, 13650 Mindanao Way.

Tony Dicks, president of the chamber, said the best viewing areas will be from Fisherman’s Village on Fiji Way, Burton Chace Park on Mindanao Way, and Mothers’ Beach, between Palawan and Panay ways.

In Hollywood, the annual festivities at the Hollywood Bowl will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday nights, but both events are sold out. In addition to the fireworks, there will be music both nights by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Master Chorale and the USC Trojan Marching Band.

Private use of fireworks is illegal in the cities of Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Culver City, Los Angeles and unincorporated areas of the county.