America’s birthday, time to celebrate with parades, barbecues, picnics, festivals, and fireworks!

Here are some places to view fireworks and enjoy a day of celebrations:

San Jose

San Jose America Festival at Guadalupe River Park’s Discovery Meadow.

Enjoy international music, multicultural crafts and a variety of ethnic and festival foods. Activities for children are in Kidland.

Performances all day Friday at the Main Stage and the Blues Stage. There are also concerts Saturday and Sunday that include Night Ranger, Starship, Amanda Miguel and Diego Verdaguer.

July 4 - San Jose America Festival and Fireworks Show; Free

Gates open 12:00 pm; fireworks 9:30 pm

July 5 - Dia de la Familia Preciosa; $10

Gates open 3:00 pm

July 6 - Kinhcert on the Green: $15

Gates open 1:00 pm

Directions, Public Transportation, Parking, Bicycles

Event Map

FAQs (everything you need to know)

Santa Clara

Picnic and Fireworks Extravaganza. Central Park, 909 Kiely Boulevard; Free

Pancake Breakfast at 8 am, followed by games and entertainment throughout the day including a carnival area, petting zoo, face painting, and swimming at the International Swim Center. Bring a picnic lunch or purchase foods at the event.

Fireworks at 9:30 pm

Schedule & food prices (PDF)

Milpitas

Independence Day Festivities. Milpitas Sports Center, 1325 E. Calaveras Boulevard; Free

Water activities at Milpitas Sports Center Pools during the day; pool party 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

Barbecue, at the pool party 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm; nominal fee.

Concert & Fireworks at Milpitas Sports Center Football Field; 8:00 pm (gates open at 7:30 pm); bring a picnic dinner.

Morgan Hill

Pancake Breakfast, 5-K Run & 1 Mile Walk, Historic 4th of July Parade, Downtown Family Festival, Live Entertainment & Car Show. Beginning 7:00 am.

Fireworks about 9:30 pm.

Annual Street Dance & Live Concert - Thursday, July 3rd; Downtown Morgan Hill - 7:00 pm

Event information

Berkeley

Berkeley Marina; Free

Activities will include entertainers, arts & crafts, free sailboat rides, free dragon boat rides, a giant slide, art projects, face painting and massages; beginning 12:00 pm at the Berkeley Marina.

Fireworks, end of the Berkeley Pier at 9:30 pm.

There is valet bicycle parking free of charge near Adventure Playground!

Event schedule

Redwood City

Activities will include arts & crafts, food, kids area, parade, and yes, fireworks.

Festival - 9:00 am

Fireworks, Port of Redwood City - 9:30 pm

Remembering Frontier Village has gathered at its old site, now Edenvale Park, to reminisce about the amusement park with a summer picnic the past seven years. This year’s picnic is this Saturday, June 28 beginning at 11:00 am.

There will be booths set up with various memorabilia, past employees will be on hand to reminisce, the Frontier Village gun fighters re-enact their old gun fighting show, a guided tour of the park pointing out where all the old attractions once stood, along with other activities.

Scheduled for this year’s picnic are four of the original Antique Autos; one of them will be available for free rides.

There are plenty of tables, chairs, and barbeque grills.

Remembering Frontier Village Picnic
Edenvale Park
200 Edenvale Avenue, San Jose

Saturday, June 28
Beginning 11:00 am

Admission: Free
Parking: Free

For more information check here.

The Sixth Annual Jazz on the Plazz is a midweek concert series featuring local, national, and world-renowned jazz artists.

Beginning this Wednesday, June 25 and every Wednesday through August 27, this free concert is presented at the Los Gatos Town Plaza, located at the intersection of W. Main Street and N. Santa Cruz Avenue.

The series kicks off with a performance by Claire Martin, an acclaimed jazz vocalist from England. She recently released her 12th album, He Never Mentioned Love. Check the Jazz on the Plazz website for a schedule of upcoming artists in the series.

Pack a picnic dinner (you may also bring beer or wine) and bring lawn chairs, blankets, and/or folding tables. Get there early to park nearby and to get a good place to sit. Parking is available in the area.

For more information, including artist profiles, schedule, seating and alcohol policies, check here.

Los Gatos Town Plaza
W. Main Street and N. Santa Cruz Avenue, Los Gatos

Wednesdays through August 27
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Admission: Free

This Thursday, June 19, transit will be free all day on Bay Area bus and light rail systems, and until 12 noon on BART, trains, and ferries. The region’s 30 transit systems including BART, Caltrain, the ACE train, Dumbarton Express, SamTrans, along with VTA light rail and buses will participate.

This is the last free ride since “Spare the Air” day began in 2004. Last summer there were two “Spare the Air” days that cost $4.6 million. With a lack of federal funding the two government agencies, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, have determined that the money could be better spent in long-term projects other than reducing emissions for only a few days.

“Spare the Air “ will become “Spare the Air Every Day” and will urge the public to reduce energy use every day.

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)

511

Google Transit

Bay Area Air Quality Management District

If you’re wandering about downtown and happen to come across a giant box pumping various music from orange cones… or maybe you look up to catch a video projected on a wall of planes flying, don’t feel confused. It’s art! Tech-infused art is taking over downtown.

01SJ - by Zero1 is “a global festival of art on the edge” and runs from today, June 4th through the 8th.
[ www.01SJ.org ]

After fighting the odd organization of the 01SJ website, I managed to figure out what exhibits/performances I want to see this week and went geeky and highlighted the map they provide.

First on my list was Incursion. As described on the 01SJ site: “2-channel video projection Commissioned by ZERO1 Sponsored by Applied Materials and the City of San Jose with the support of the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council for the Arts”

What is projected?

It’s amazing and it runs dusk to dawn everyday of the festival.

This weekend is the 13th Special Olympics Northern California Summer Games on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley.

Athletes from throughout Northern California will compete in aquatics, track & field, bocce, tennis and volleyball. Athletes trained for 6-8 weeks and then participated in a regional competition to qualify for the Summer Games.

A short list of events includes Aquatics: assisted swim, flotation race, individual medley, and relays; Track & Field: running & walking events, high jump, running long jump, standing long jump, softball throw, tennis ball throw; and wheel chair events.

Bocce is played with one small ball and eight larger balls, four for each team. The small ball is thrown first becoming the target. Then each larger ball is thrown with the goal of placing it as close to the small ball as possible. The 4-person team competition for bocce will take place at Martinez Waterfront Park.

On Friday evening, there will be an Opening Ceremonies that will include the traditional parade of athletes and the lighting of the Special Olympics Caldron.

Volunteers are a very important part of Special Olympics throughout the year. During the Summer Games, there will be more than 300 coaches accompanying the athletes and another 1,300 individuals will help at one of the five venues hosting a competition.

Schedule, maps and parking here.

Special Olympics Northern California Summer Games
University of California, Berkeley and Martinez Waterfront Park

Friday, June 6 - 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm - Opening Ceremonies
Saturday, June 7 - 9:00 am to 4:00 pm - Competition - event times
Sunday, June 8 - 8:00 am to 2:00 pm - Competition - event times

Admission: Free to all events

For information about Special Olympics Silicon Valley, including upcoming events in the South Bay, check here.

This Thursday Foothill College presents Julia Flynn Siler the author of The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty as part of its Authors Series of guest readings and book signings by best-selling authors.

The House of Mondavi spans four generations from when Italian immigrant Cesare Mondavi passed through Ellis Island, to the Robert Mondavi Corp.’s 21st-century battle over a billion-dollar fortune.

Julia Flynn Siler was a correspondent for BusinessWeek and now The Wall Street Journal. One of her WSJ stories was about the turmoil within the Mondavi familys wine empire, which ran as a front-page story in June, 2004. The story led to her book The House of Mondavi, which involved more than 500 hours of interviews and examination of tens of thousands of pages of documents.

Unfortunately, Robert Mondavi died May 16, 2008.

Campus Center Student Lounge, Foothill College
12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills

Thursday, May 29
3:00 pm

Admission: Free
Parking: $2.00

This weekend May 10 – 11 and next weekend May 17 – 18 more than 300 Silicon Valley artists will welcome visitors to their studios and workspaces.

During this free event, you will view diverse one-of-a-kind works of art, including painting, mixed media, photography, sculpture, jewelry, calligraphy, ceramics, fiber arts, pottery, mosaics, metal work, glass, drawing, printmaking, watercolor, woodworking and more. You will be able to meet with the artists and purchase artworks directly.

This weekend May 10 – 11 visit artist in these locations: East Palo Alto, Ladera, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Loyola, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale.

Then next weekend May 17 – 18 visit artist in these locations: Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, San Jose, and Saratoga.

Silicon Valley Open Studios
Saturday and Sunday
11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Please visit the artists/locations on the appropriate weekend listed above.

A list of all artists with icons depicting their specialty here.

A crude search of artist and locations here.

Locations to pick up a free copy of the Artist Directory and Map Guide here.

A Breath of Plein Air is a current exhibit presented by History San José at the Leonard and David McKay Gallery at the Pasetta House featuring plein air paintings, painting in the open air.

The exhibit features 54 pieces by 25 local artists illustrating scenes of San José, Santa Clara or Silicon Valley.

From the History San José web site:

The art of plein air painting, a French word meaning “in the open air,” became popular in the mid-1800’s, with the invention of paints in tubes. Prior to that paint was made by hand and easels were less portable. As the popularity of natural lighting in painting increased, the French impressionists, and later the Russian and American impressionists, have set the stage as the outdoor style continues to be attractive. This is particularly the case in Santa Clara Valley, where the fair weather is often favorable.

Artists who’d like to paint outdoors are invited to attend Plein Air Days at History San José, on Sundays, May 4, June 15, July 20 and August 17.

The Leonard and David McKay Gallery at the Pasetta House opened in 2005, completely restored and transformed into an exhibition space.

History San José is a 14-acre park featuring a town atmosphere, with free rides on historic trolleys, exhibit galleries and 27 historic buildings.

A Breath of Plein Air
The Leonard and David McKay Gallery at the Pasetta House
History San José
1650 Senter Road

Friday – Sunday; through September 21
12:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Admission: Free
Parking $6.00

Drop off your old, unwanted or obsolete computers, monitors, TVs, cell phones, keyboards, mice, cabling, and more this weekend.

Saturday, May 3
Woodland Meadow
1600 Whitewood Drive, San Jose
11:00 - 2:00

Sunday, May 4
West Valley Presbyterian Church
6191 Bollinger Road, Cupertino
11:30 - 2:30

Free events

For more info or other options: GreenMouse (eWaste Services) 408.464.9999