Celebrate America’s birthday across NM
Music, food, drinks, fireworks and fun are the order of the day
Live music, fireworks, food and plenty of parades will highlight New Mexico’s contribution to Uncle Sam’s 242nd birthday. Here’s a look at some area festivities on Wednesday.
This year’s Freedom Fourth at Balloon Fiesta Park is set for 3 to 10 p.m., and will feature Jo Dee Messina, Slim and the Bluetones, Native Roots and Severo y Groupo Fuego.
Free children’s activities include jumpers, two rock walls and face painting. Dozens of food vendors will be on site, and participants can partake at a beer garden featuring drinks from 19 breweries, wineries and distilleries.
Admission is free, but parking is $10.
Two Park & Ride locations will provide bus service to and from the celebration. The round-trip cost for riding the bus is $1 for adults and 35 cents for those 62 years and older, as well as disabled people and students ages 10-18. Children
ages 9 and under ride free.
On the West Side, the parking area is at Cottonwood Mall, just off 7 Bar Loop on the north side of the mall, between Old Navy and Regal Cinemas Cottonwood 16.
The East Side parking location is at Coronado Center, west of Dick’s Sporting Goods on San Pedro, south of Menaul.
Bus rides to Freedom Fourth will start at 3 p.m. and end at 8 p.m. Return trips to the two Park & Ride locations will begin immediately after the fireworks show, with the last bus leaving Balloon Fiesta Park at 11 p.m.
A bike valet will be on the north side of the Anderson-Abruzzo International Balloon Museum, just south of Balloon Fiesta Park.
Live music starts at 4 p.m. Messina will perform at 8 p.m., followed by the state’s largest fireworks display, scheduled for around 9:15 p.m.
For more event information, go to www.cabq.gov.
Rio Rancho
Independence Day in Rio Rancho starts with a parade at 10 a.m., which will traverse the city center area and near the Santa Ana Star Center.
As part of the parade, children and their parents can participate by riding decorated bicycles. Bike registration will begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday in the upper parking lot just southwest of the Santa Ana Star Center. Prizes in three age groups — 5 to 7, 8 to 10, and 11 to 15 — will be awarded to the bikes that are decorated the best, most patriotic and most original.
Culminating the day is a 9 p.m. fireworks show at Loma Colorado Park, 735 Loma Colorado, where live music will start at 6 p.m. The show is free, but parking in nearby lots costs $5.
Blankets and coolers are permitted, and food vendors will be on-site.
For more information on Rio Rancho’s July Fourth events, visit www. rrnm.gov.
Bernalillo
Spend the afternoon cooling off with water balloon fights, water slides, live music and other activities at the Mayor’s Benefit Splash and Bash from 1 to 6 p.m. at Rotary Park, 370 Rotary Park Road.
Hot dogs, hamburgers and other refreshments will be provided from 1 to 3 p.m. The Pavilion at Rotary Park will host a ceremony honoring the former mayors of Bernalillo, commemorating the city’s 70th anniversary, starting at 3:30 p.m.
Corrales
Corrales residents will line the streets for the annual Corrales Fourth of July Parade, which begins at 10 a.m. at Target Road. The parade will proceed south through downtown Corrales to La Entrada Road.
A post-parade Family Fun Day will take place at La Entrada Park. Firefighters and Boy Scouts will serve food, and local organizations will set up informational booths.
Las Cruces
Las Cruces will celebrate the holiday with fireworks, along with headliners Dennis DeYoung and the music of Styx and Jefferson Starship, at Pat and Lou Sisbarro Community Park, 3205 Arrowhead, on the New Mexico State University campus. Gates open at 4 p.m.
For more information, visit lascruces.org.
Los Lunas
Los Lunas begins its Fourth of July celebrations with a parade at 9 a.m. that starts at Lambros Loop and goes to Don Pasqual Road.
Live music at Daniel Fernandez Park begins at 4 p.m. Play games and participate in other family activities into the evening, and stay for the fireworks, scheduled to start at dusk.
For more information, visit www. loslunasnm.gov.
Placitas
Placitas’ Fourth of July parade begins at 11 a.m. near Placitas High School and winds along N.M. 165 through the village.
Floats, people, pets, horses, fire apparatus and other conveyances are part of the festivities.
Santa Fe
Pancakes on the Plaza takes place from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Breakfast is served from 7 a.m. to noon. Tickets are $10 on the day of the feast or $8 in advance. They’re available at several local banks and credit unions. Proceeds go to nonprofit organizations.
The Plaza event includes a coloring contest for kids, vintage cars on display, and an arts and crafts fair.
Bandelier
Fifteen people will become American citizens during a naturalization ceremony at Bandelier National Monument.
The park will host the annual ceremony, which begins at 11 a.m. and includes refreshments and a color guard.
The ceremony is free to attend, but visitors must pay the regular park entrance fee. A free shuttle is available from the White Rock Visitor Center.
For more details about the naturalization ceremony or other information about Bandelier National Monument, contact the park’s visitor center at 505-672-3861, ext. 517; visit www.nps.gov/band; or go to the park’s Facebook page, BandelierNPS.