What's Happening in July: Santa Barbara, Pasadena, Newport Beach, Palm Springs, and Beyond

July arrives on a Saturday this year, which means the Fourth gets a full three-day weekend instead of the usual scramble. It also happens to be the country's 250th birthday, so cities across Southern California have leaned into the occasion with bigger lineups than usual. Most of the month's energy clusters around that one weekend, but there's plenty worth circling for the weeks after the smoke clears. Here's where to point yourself.

Santa Barbara

The waterfront is the whole show here, and it runs all day on July 4. The city takes over West Beach from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. with live music at the West Beach Bandstand, a street fair of food vendors, and a 20-minute fireworks display launched over the Pacific around 9 p.m. by Garden State Fireworks. Around 6 p.m., the city closes State Street from Gutierrez to Cabrillo and lets the crowd spill into the road. If you're driving in, the waterfront self-pay lots run a flat $20 for the day and fill early, so plan to arrive with time to circle. The fireworks read well from West Beach and Stearns Wharf, and from the higher ground at Leadbetter Beach if you want elbow room. KjEE (92.9 FM) simulcasts the soundtrack.

If you'd rather give back than just clean up after yourself, the city runs a beach cleanup the morning of July 5 from 9 to 11 a.m. at Leadbetter, West Beach, and East Beach, with gloves, buckets, and a parking pass provided.

The rest of the month earns its keep too. Free Summer Cinema returns to the County Courthouse Sunken Garden at 8:30 p.m. with a "Mixtapes & Misfits" theme: Pretty in Pink on July 10, Say Anything on July 17, La Bamba on July 24, and Rushmore on July 31. The free Concerts in the Park series plays Chase Palm Park from 6 to 7:30 p.m., with the Mighty Cash Cats covering Johnny Cash on July 16 and Spencer the Gardener bringing surf-pop on July 23. And the two-day California Wine Festival pours July 17 and 18, opening with a rare and reserve tasting at the Hilton Beachfront Resort and closing with a beachside festival at Chase Palm Park.

Pasadena

Pasadena does the Fourth its own way. The Rose Bowl hosts the Foodieland night market from July 3 to 5, with more than 100 food vendors and a culinary range that runs Korean to South American to Japanese. Friday runs 3 to 10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 1 to 10 p.m. On the Fourth itself, the stadium swaps fireworks for its second annual drone show, which is ticketed and requires a reservation.

For something more old-fashioned, the Madison Heights neighborhood parade steps off at 11 a.m. on July 4 from Euclid Avenue at Fillmore, led this year by Fire Chief Chad Augustin. Kids decorate bikes and strollers, and a block party with food trucks follows.

Later in the month, the Rose Bowl turns over to Drum Corps International on July 11 at 5:15 p.m., which is a genuinely impressive thing to watch even if you've never thought about competitive marching once in your life. The summer concert circuit keeps going across town, with Pasadena POPS at the L.A. County Arboretum and Jazz in the Park at Playhouse Village Park. If you want quiet and altitude, the Mount Wilson Observatory runs its Sunday Afternoon Concerts in the Dome, which is exactly as unusual and lovely as it sounds.

Newport Beach

Newport spreads the holiday across the water and the neighborhoods, and you can stack several events into one morning. The Newport Peninsula Bike Parade rolls at 9 a.m. on July 4 from West Balboa Boulevard and 36th Street, then continues with a festival at Channel Place Park from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. The Mariners Park family bike parade follows at 10:30 a.m. Around 5:35 p.m., keep an eye on the sky: the Condor Squadron flies vintage AT-6 aircraft down the coast over Newport on their way south.

The signature event is the Old Glory Boat Parade, hosted by the American Legion Yacht Club from 1 to 3:30 p.m. in Newport Harbor. This year marks the 100th anniversary of American Legion Post 291, and registration is free and open to any boat, from a Duffy to a yacht. Grab a seat on the sand if you'd rather just watch the decorated fleet cruise by.

For fireworks, Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort runs an all-day Independence Day on the Back Bay celebration. Gates open at 8 a.m. with food trucks, live music, water sports, and an inflatable aquatic park, and the fireworks go up at 9 p.m. You can also catch the show from Castaways Park, along Back Bay Drive from your car, or from a harbor cruise if you booked one early.

Palm Springs

Let's be honest about the desert in July: afternoon temperatures push past 110, so the city schedules nearly everything for after dark. That works in your favor.

The weekend starts downtown on Thursday, July 2, when VillageFest hosts a Fourth of July kickoff from 7 to 10 p.m. along Palm Canyon Drive, with games, crafts, live music, and free snow cones while they last. On Friday, July 3, the Palm Springs Swim Center opens for free swim at 6 p.m. followed by a dive-in screening of The Sandlot at 7 p.m. Bring a swimsuit, a towel, and a lawn chair.

The Fourth itself centers on Sunrise Park. The free all-American pool party runs 3 to 10 p.m. at the Swim Center, a free Concert in the Park starts at 7 p.m., and the fireworks light up around 9:15 p.m. If your taste runs more retro, The Saguaro hosts a 70s disco pool party for the 21-and-up crowd from 1 to 7 p.m., with disco-house DJ Alex Harrington spinning Chic and Donna Summer. RSVPs are free before 2 p.m.

VillageFest keeps the summer going on its regular Thursday schedule, with a Camp Palm Springs night on July 16 and a Parks and Recreation Month celebration on July 23, both 7 to 10 p.m.

And Beyond

The 250th gave the whole region an excuse to go big, and a few events past the four anchor cities are worth the drive.

Goleta brings back its free Fourth of July Drone Light Show at Dos Pueblos High School, pairing live music and food trucks with an after-dark display. Down in Orange County, the Pageant of the Masters opens July 9 and runs through September 4 at the Irvine Bowl in Laguna Beach, with nightly shows at 8:30 p.m. recreating famous artworks with live actors, which is one of those things you have to see in person to believe.

In the Coachella Valley, Palm Desert's free Independence Day celebration takes over Civic Center Park, with the Swing Cats Big Band at 7:30 p.m. and a 20-minute fireworks show at 9 p.m. Arrive by 5:30 for parking. Rancho Mirage offers a free fireworks and drone show at Agua Caliente Casino, and the Living Desert Zoo runs its own family-friendly Fourth if you want to fold in some animals before the fireworks.

Wherever you land this month, the good news is that Southern California gives you options at every temperature, budget, and energy level. Pick your beach, your pool, or your parade, and go.