The most popular entry in Thursday’s Fourth of July parade will be bringing up the rear as usual.
Reserve firefighters manning a hose cart will hustle down Main Street stopping ever so often at fire hydrants, hook up the hose, roll it out to the middle of the street, and — with a firefighter pointing the nozzle skyward — will charge the line sending up a blast of water that will fall down on kids and “kids at heart” who run into the street to enjoy a cool street shower.
The National Weather Service expects almost perfect summer weather Thursday with the high nudging the 90-degre mark but not breaking it for the Manteca Independence Day celebration.
It starts with the Manteca Kiwanis annual Fourth of July pancake breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m. at Angelo’s, 1020 N. Main St., Manteca. The $7 ticket for adults and $4 for kids under 10 includes pancakes, ham, eggs, and coffee.
The breakfast location is adjacent to the staging area for the Sunrise Kiwanis parade that departs the area around Golden West School at 10 a.m. and heads south down North Main Street to Center Street where it will head west to end at Library Park.
Retired Manteca Police Chief Charlie Halford will serve as grand marshal. The theme this year is “Rocketing into the Future.”
The day-long Independence Day celebration at the Big League Dreams sports complex is back thanks to efforts by Mary Mueller and volunteers working with her.
Dubbed “The Liberty Festival” it runs from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the BLD venue.
The event will include entertainment throughout the day, vendors as well as traditional Fourth of July picnic style activities such as sack races and three-legged races. There will be vendors as well. Fagundes Meats will be on hand with their food truck. Big League Dreams will also have their two restaurants open.
The entertainment planned for Fenway Field is as follows:
*12:45 p.m. — Kids’ Zumba
*1:00 p.m. — Opening Ceremonies
*1:30 p.m. Police Canine Demonstration
*2:30 p.m. — Alani & Alina
*3:30 p.m. — Manteca Shooting Stars
*4:30 p.m. — Dream Dance Studio
*5:30 p.m. — Hailee & Olivia, Gentry McLaury, Daniel Abellar-Neilson
*6:30 p.m. — Max Garcia
*7:30 p.m. — Cheyenne Milligan
BLD will be charging a $2 admission for those 13 and older. The first 500 people to bring a canned good item will be able to enter for $1. The canned goods are being donated to Second Harvest Food Bank. Those 12 and under will be admitted at no charge.
After dusk shortly after 9 p.m. the Manteca aerial fireworks are launched immediately north of the BLD complex from the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
