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.

It is going to be another hot weekend. Time to head for the beach. This weekend there will be more than just hanging out at the Boardwalk for entertainment. There is the Pro-Am Beach Soccer Championship Saturday and Sunday in Santa Cruz.

Wait a minute; soccer on the beach? The ball will just sit there stuck in the sand! Nope, the ball is kept in the air and not dribbled on the sand. The “field” is much small than a regular soccer grass field and there are five players per team.

Next thing you know there will be sand fields popping up everywhere; in backyards, at work, and in parks.

Pro-Am Beach Soccer Championship
Main beach below the Boardwalk and Seabright Beach, Santa Cruz

Saturday and Sunday, June 21 – 22
Beginning 8:00 am

Schedule, field map, parking, and more information here.

Sitting in a cube buried deep in an office building you wonder what it is like outside. Hello, webcams!

You can find a plethora of webcams from around the world via Google. One of my favorite local webcams is the Lick Observatory’s Hamcams atop Mt. Hamilton.

There are two Hamcams with a view of the South Bay and a view of six telescope domes. The quality of the views depend on weather conditions and the often present hazy in the valley. At night, there is a great view of the city lights; however, the view of the six domes is nonexistent due to lack of light. Clicking “Image With Description” provides information of that webcams view.

When I viewed the city lights the other evening I wondered about the light interfering with astronomical observations. I learned from the Santa Clara Valley & Lick Observatory website, among other criteria, “Some types of lighting are far better for astronomical observations than other types. Low Pressure Sodium (LPS) is the best, metal halide is the worst. LPS lamps produce almost all their output in a single color, or narrow range of wavelengths. To the eye, the light is a very pure yellow, because it emits only at that color. Astronomers prefer this lighting because it is easy to filter out.”

Lick Observatory’s Hamcams

Metblogs author Victor gives his account of visiting Lick Observatory here.

San Jose State University Department of Meteorology has a webcam view of downtown San Jose here.

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.

It optimistically will be cooler this weekend. If it still isn’t cool enough then head on over to Santa Cruz, where it will be a bit cooler than here. The weather forecasters have San Jose in the upper 80’s and Santa Cruz in the low 80’s this weekend.

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk will be having its 101st Season Kick Off this weekend. Saturday and Sunday from noon there will be champion high divers descending from an 80-foot tower and performances by the Amazing Chinese Acrobats, shows alternate every hour.

In addition, this weekend is the River Arts Festival presented by the Santa Cruz Education Foundation. The River Arts Festival is a fundraiser to celebrate and support art in the area’s local public schools. Schools and environmental groups are represented at information booths.

Artists will give insight into various artistic processes including Glass Blowing, Metal Working, Painting, Ceramics and more.

The Festival will feature Sand Painting, Sun Prints, and more for children and adults, lead by professional artists; musical performances; strolling troubadours; food court.

On Sunday 11:00 am the Festival will include the first Santa Cruz Kinetic Sculpture Race. Artists build sculptures on wheels to be raced that are pushed, pulled or pedaled by the artist.

River Arts Festival
San Lorenzo Park, Santa Cruz

Saturday and Sunday, May 17 - 18
11:00 am - 5:00 pm

The 17th Annual Kids Free Fishing Days is this weekend at the Los Gatos Creek Park - Campbell Percolation Ponds.

Kids 17-years-old and younger fish free and adults are welcome to attend. Bring your own rod, reel, and bait. The ponds will be stocked with thousands of trout and there will be prizes for tagged fish.

Los Gatos Creek County Park
1250 Dell Ave, Campbell

Saturday and Sunday, May 3-4
8:00 am to dusk

Parking (Vehicle Entry Fee): $6.00

More info: 408.970.8578

It was pretty hazy in San Jose which made it hard to focus on the moon. Regardless, what we could see was pretty cool. Here’s hoping the next lunar eclipse (2010) will happen on a CLEAR winter night.

Looking over Silicon Valley from Sierra Road.

2/20: Stage 3 - Modesto to San José:

The race begins this morning in Modesto at 10am. It will be a great triumph just getting to San Jose. The route will take the riders to Patterson then up and over the 4360-foot summit of Mt. Hamilton. This is a beautiful drive by car, but not an easy feat by bike. The weather could add extra caution to the 18-mile descent.

Once here in the valley, the cyclists will be directed north on Piedmont Road and then unbelievably they will be asked to make it up Sierra (Grade) Road. This ‘hill’ of 1,943 feet in 3.7 miles may very well be the decider of today’s race. The downhill run from Calaveras Road to Piedmont Road, and then to City Hall should be a welcome breeze.

The CHP will be restricting motorized traffic during the day:

Calaveras Rd. - closed 1 to 3pm

Rolling Closure Areas:
Piedmont Rd.
Mabury Rd.
becomes Taylor St.
N. 2nd St.
St. James

3rd St. - closed between St. James and San Fernando noon to 6pm

Santa Clara St. - closed from Second to Fourth early morning to 6pm
and from Fourth to Seventh will be closed to 8pm.

Finish @ City Hall

AMGEN’S TOUR OF CALIFORNIA
STAGE 3 COVERAGE BEGINS WEDNESDAY AT 9:30A

Comcast TV
081 VERSUS
Wed, Feb 20, 8:00p - 9:00p

Located in Aptos, near Santa Cruz, is the Forest of Nisene Marks. The special thing about this place is that it’s a product of afforestation. What was once depleted by the Loma Prieta Mill is now back as a forest! While serving as living proof of what we can do to make the earth greener, it also offers the regular hiking and camping opportunities.

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