FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION : From Dawn’s Early Light, Day Goes Off With Bang : Festivities: Budget cuts cancel Oxnard’s street fair, but other countywide celebrations more than make up for it.

About 30,000 Fourth of July enthusiasts began the holiday well before dawn in Ventura on Wednesday--oohing, aahing and yawning at the colored starbursts fired over the ocean.

Throughout the afternoon an estimated 50,000 people filled eight blocks of downtown, browsing among art exhibits and munching on everything from funnel cake to fajitas.

Meanwhile, thousands more from Ojai to Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks participated in Independence Day celebrations as diverse as a home run derby for senior citizens and a go-cart race for kids.

People reveled in all kinds of typical Fourth of July fare: barbecues, softball games and fireworks at dusk. In Fillmore, relay races and a Latin rock group entertained picnickers. In Oxnard, city budget cuts forced cancellation of a street fair, but local bands performed country Western songs and rock ‘n’ roll at a high school stadium.

For the second year, Ventura held its fireworks show in the early morning to avoid the traffic problems and rowdy crowds of past evening shows. Adapting to the new tradition, people roused themselves from sleep before 5 a.m. and herded family and friends to the beach.

“I don’t know if people come for feelings of patriotism or the glitz,” Howard Freeman said of the fireworks. For him? “I guess it’s the glitz,” the 48-year-old Ventura resident said with a laugh. “The original meaning is kind of lost, like the original meaning of Christmas.”

Shot from the pier at Harbor Boulevard and California Street, exploding fireworks of scarlet, green and orange were reflected in the water. Some in the crowd during the 30-minute show said the streaks looked like glitter and bridal veils.

Last year, Mary Freeman, 43, was skeptical about the idea of celebrating before noon. “I didn’t think getting up at 2 in the morning would be fun,” she said. But the couple agreed that the fireworks show seems safer during the morning hours.

“This is like one big happy family party,” Howard Freeman said.

People rolled strollers onto the sand and sat on blankets, beach chairs and rocks, huddling against the wind. Some watched the display with infants sleeping by their sides.

“It’s fun for the big folks, but it’s memories for the little folks,” Howard Freeman said. Family friend Sherry Van Wonsel added, “It’s memories for the big folks too.”

San Diego Fireworks, the company hired to put on the Ventura show, shot 800 shells into the air, 300 for the finale alone, said Brian Clark, hazardous materials officer with the Ventura City Fire Department. Seven workers from the department assisted the fireworks company employees on the pier. Two workers watched from a fire boat.

Ventura police estimated that about 30,000 people attended the show.

About 70 members of the Ventura County Kiwanis Club flipped hot cakes and poured coffee for the eager but tired party-goers. Later, many of the same members sold flags and peanuts at the afternoon street fair to raise money for the organization’s civic and educational projects.

Dressed as Uncle Sam in red, white and blue, Kiwanis president Art Zimmer twisted balloons into dogs and swords for the passing children.

“Only the pure of heart can tell that that could be an American flag,” Zimmer said, handing a child an animal balloon. “Otherwise, it looks like a dog.”

The Kiwanis members were joined by other groups such as Mothers & Others for Safe Food and the Lions Club. Five-hundred artists displayed their wares, from glazed pottery to stained glass earrings, from wind chimes to woven rugs.

Square dancers twirled across the pavement in full, lacy skirts while their partners donned flag-striped handkerchiefs. Folk guitarists and Big Band sounds played throughout the day.

About 50,000 people wandered the streets during the street fair, estimated Faye Campbell, director of special events for the city.

“Oh, the Fourth of July used to be my favorite holiday when I was a kid,” said 73-year-old Frank Cingrani, resting on a low brick wall. “We used to save up money and buy fireworks. A dollar bought a whole bagful.”

Carol Studt, 42, of Ventura said that every year her husband drags out his marching band music and plays John Philip Sousa and other patriotic sounds. Resting on the grass with her 9-year-old daughter, Studt said the family would return home that evening to barbecue steak.

An array of ethnic food stands cluttered the sidewalks. Thirty-eight vendors invited people to choose from Eastern European pastries, German sausage, fajitas, Polish pirogi. An aroma of grilled food wafted about the stands.

Members of the Ventura Polish Eagle Lodge found a way to blend their American and Polish heritages at a booth selling kielbasa and dill pickles, and bearing Polish costumes and red, white and blue banners.

“Our parents came to this country to be free,” said Helen Muller of Ventura, a second-generation American. “That’s why we celebrate. We feel this freedom and want to share that with everyone.”

HOLDING FOURTH: The revelry of Independence Day in pictures. B2