.California Masonic Lodge 183, through the leadership of George Shelley, will be sponsoring the annual Independence Day Parade on July 4.
The parade theme this year is "Proud of America." There is no entry fee and organizations, churches, schools, businesses, etc., are invited to show patriotism by entering a float or just being in the parade.
Parade line-up will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Smith Street in the Cargill area. The parade will start at 10 a.m. along Smith Street, turning right on Oak Street, right on South Street, left on High Street, going by the Courthouse and ending at the fairgrounds.
At the end of the parade the Masonic Lodge will hand out bottles of water to those that were in the parade. As last year, the parade route is longer as the California Historic District (CHD) will sponsor free children's games for those ages 12 and under on the Courthouse lawn following the parade. Games include pillow sack races, ring toss, duck pond, water balloon toss and three-legged races.
The city swimming pool will be open from 12 noon to 6 p.m. Friday, July 4; noon to 7 p.m. Saturday, July 5; and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, July 6.
The California fireworks display will be at Proctor Park on Friday, July 4. It will begin about dusk (usually 9 p.m. to 9:15 p.m.). In case of rain, the event will be held on Saturday, July 5, at Proctor Park to begin at dusk.
Members of the California Masonic Lodge and CHD encourage everyone to come out on the Fourth of July and make this the biggest Independence Day celebration ever.