Beachfront bursts and neighborhood traditions: 9 O.C. options to mark America's 250th

Crouched underneath the Rose Bowl 's aluminum bench seats, hiding behind my parents ' legs for extra security, I rode out the booms and my terrified belief the whistling fireworks were coming for me as they fell from the sky. The over- amplified sounds of John Phillips Sousa blasted throughout the venerable stadium. I was 3 years old and that 's my earliest clear recollection of the Fourth of July.

I don 't know for sure, and there 's no one left in our family to ask, but I imagine I tried to block out the cacophony by stuffing my pudgy little index fingers into my ears. There may also have been some tears involved. Knowing them, it 's highly likely my older siblings were snickering at me, but if they were, that 's lost to memory.

It didn 't take long, though, before I loved fireworks displays. I still do. My sympathies went out to the good folks of Laguna Beach a couple of years ago when a drone display replaced their traditional pyrotechnics on the Fourth of July. I don 't care how spectacular drone shows are, they just aren 't the same. I completely grasp the thinking related to fire prevention and air pollution as holiday celebrations are mulled in city halls. Intellectually I 'm with them, but not emotionally, especially when it comes to America 's birthday.

Advertisement So, it was with enthusiasm that we published a roundup by TimesOC 's Sarah Mosqueda of some great Orange County fireworks shows and other events planned for this weekend. We didn 't have the print space to include every event taking place countywide, so she narrowed it down to select group. From the 122nd annual Huntington Beach Fourth of July Parade (followed in the evening by fireworks ) to the Old Glory Boat Parade in Newport Harbor, to fireworks shows in Dana Point Harbor, Laguna Beach (Yay !), Santa Ana and Great Park Irvine (during the Pacific Symphony concert ) and more, Sarah 's reporting has you covered.

You can find the complete roundup of these Orange County events, with times and more details, by clicking this link.

As to the Rose Bowl, after 96 years of boasting of what was always touted as "the biggest fireworks show west of the Mississippi, " wiser heads prevailed following the ungodly Eaton fire and the grim facts about the air quality hits that region took for several days surrounding July 4. This Saturday, the second Rose Bowl Stadium Drone Show will be held. My 3- year- old self would have been thrilled. Today ? Not so much.

NEWS -An Orange County judge has ordered Huntington Beach to move to ranked- choice voting for its city council elections. Judge Craig Griffin sided with plaintiffs Huntington Beach activist Victor Valladares and Latino voter rights nonprofit Southwest Voter Registration Education Project in their lawsuit, which argued that the current system makes it more difficult for residents in the largely Latino Oak View community to get elected to the council. No other O.C. city offers ranked- choice voting and Registrar of Voters Bob Page said the voting system used by his office does not currently have a viable way to conduct that type of election, so exactly how soon the city can comply with the judge 's orders is not clear.

-A church on Russell Avenue in Garden Grove will be making way for a residential development that will include 26 townhomes, following the approval of the Garden Grove City Council last week. The council approved similar plans in 2025 for a property housing Grace Baptist Church on Santa Catalina Avenue, where another 26 townhomes are included in a project.

-A project to bring 281 units of housing to a site off Beach Boulevard currently occupied by Amway Nutrilite Center was approved by the Buena Park City Council at its last meeting.

-The city of Newport Beach, which recently announced it would no longer be paying for beds for its homeless people at the Bridge Shelter in Costa Mesa, is now poised to partner with Huntington Beach on a smaller scale - and for fewer dollars - at the latter 's Navigation Center.

BUSINESS -A five- bedroom contemporary home in Laguna Beach 's gate- guarded enclave of Emerald Bay sold quietly for $110 million, The Times reported, which is the highest price to date in Orange County.

-Entrepreneur Lemeir Mitchell, owner of Happy Ice, on Juneteenth welcomed guests to his new permanent site at Downtown Disney, where he sells his water ice, which has an almost creamy texture.

-A hazardous materials cleanup began Monday at the GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, where tens of thousands of people were evacuated last month while crews worked to abate the threat of an explosion or leak of toxic chemicals. OC Health Care Agency has created an online dashboard where readers can monitor air quality.

CRIME & COURTS -Former Orange Coast District, State Park Supt. Kevin Pearsall turned himself into authorities last week after he learned he was the subject of a $500, 000 arrest warrant, suspected of secretly recording naked lifeguards in a locker room at Bolsa Chica State Beach. The same day Pearsall was charged with five felony counts of eavesdropping, 23 misdemeanor counts of secretly filming another and three misdemeanor counts of unlawful dissemination of private recordings, one of his alleged victims filed a lawsuit against his former boss that claims Pearsall 's recordings constituted harassment and created a hostile work environment.

SPORTS -The Angels fired General Manager Perry Minasian and replaced him, on an interim basis, with St. Louis Cardinals executive John Mozeliak, who says he hopes to get the team to "a very successful place, " The Times reports. In other Halos news, center fielder Josh Lowe had his first career grand slam Sunday in a 4- 1 victory over the Athletics at Anaheim Stadium, and Mike Trout said he is not likely to participate in the July 13 MLB T- Mobile Home Run Derby due to a strained hamstring.

-Melanie Salata Fitch, the chief executive of Irrelevant Week in Newport Beach who has mulled taking the show on the road, decided to keep it at home after getting feedback from locals who were dismayed they might no longer be allowed to host the last player picked in the NFL draft. And so, 2026 Mr. Irrelevant Red Murdock was welcomed in Newport with open arms last week, feted at a banquet and taught how to surf. Murdock, a linebacker who played for University at Buffalo, is now a Denver Bronco.

-The Times ' "Prep Rally " columnist Eric Sondheimer offers his look at athletes who could be drafted by the MLB this month, and a few of them are from Orange County, including some high school standouts.

LIFE & LEISURE -Elementary- aged kids participating in a Girls Inc. Orange County got real- world insight as part of the Smart Ups summer entrpreneurship program, pitching ideas to potential investors in a "Shark Tank "- like competition last week.

CALENDAR -You know it 's summer in Laguna Beach when throngs show up to enjoy the annual Sawdust Festival, the Laguna Art- A- Fair (both of which opened for the season last Friday ), the Festival of Arts, which opens July 7, and the latter festival 's Pageant of the Masters, which will be launched July 9. The Festival of Arts website can be found here, where there are more details, including information on a $29 pass that will get you into all three festivals.

-The sounds of ABBA and music from "Star Wars " and "Back to the Future " are among the concerts planned by the Pacific Symphony for their third annual SummerFest at Great Park Live. The series begins this Saturday, July 4, and, as mentioned above, there will be fireworks. Learn more about SummerFest in this feature story.

-Presidential portraits by Rosemary Vasquez Tuthill and vintage weathervanes are providing visitors to the Hilbert Museum of California Art with a look at Americana as the country 's 250th anniversary arrives. The Hilbert is located at 167 N. Atchison St., Orange.

Happy Fourth of July to you and yours. Cheers to the next 250 years !

Carol KEEP IN TOUCH We appreciate your help in making this the best newsletter it can be. Please send news tips, your memory of life in O.C. (photos welcome !) or comments to carol.cormaci @latimes.com.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.