Santa Barbara is bringing back Fourth of July fireworks show. What about other local cities?

The big show is back.

After last year’s pandemic aberration, Santa Barbara once again will celebrate the Fourth of July with a 20-minute fireworks celebration.

The city recently approved a $60,500 contract with Garden State Fireworks to put on the show. The money includes $5,500 for a shorter Parade of Lights fireworks show in December.

The state plans to reopen June 15, which means people will be able to gather once again in large crowds. According to the California Department of Public Health, there will be no restrictions on social distancing for people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Face coverings will not be required for those people who are fully vaccinated. For unvaccinated people, face coverings are required outdoors when physical distancing cannot be maintained, according to the Department of Public Health.

For now, however, it appears that the fireworks show will be the sole attraction. The city doesn’t plan any stages, live music or food trucks.

“This year, people can feel safe finding themselves a spot on the beach and watching the fireworks,” Mayor Cathy Murillo said. “I’m hoping people enjoy themselves and celebrate pandemic conditions lightening up, as well as having pride in our country on Independence Day.”

Waterfront director Mike Wiltshire said the city technically still could cancel the contract if necessary, but such a step backward seems unlikely with the COVID-19 case count dropping so low.

He said he hopes the show remains popular for the locals.

“We are not going to overly promote people coming to town,” Wiltshire said. “My assumption is that people will gather at the beach like any busy Sunday. It will be the same program as before.”

Right now, there are no plans for a fireworks show in Goleta.

In the North County, one fireworks show will go on, another won’t and a third remains up in the air.

Lompoc will hold its fireworks show around dusk on July 4 at Ryon Park, spokeswoman Samantha Scroggin said.

The city’s Recreation Division organizes the event, and officials are still ironing out other details.

Ryon Park will be a new venue for the fireworks show. The previous site, Hyuck Stadium at Lompoc High School, is no longer available after undergoing a major renovation.

Santa Maria won’t host a fireworks show in 2021.

City spokesman Mark van de Kamp said the easing of restrictions came too late for signing a contract for the 2021 event. City officials looked for alternatives, but the options were scarce and cost prohibitive.

In Solvang, it remained unknown whether the Santa Ynez Valley’s fireworks show and Fourth of July parade could occur on short notice.

City manager Xenia Bradford told the City Council on Monday night that she had reached out to the organizers of each event — local Rotary Clubs — to alert them about the eased restrictions effective June 15.

“As far as Solvang is concerned, we’re now fully open to our economy and can hold any events that we would normally hold in the city of Solvang, including Fourth of July fireworks and a parade. It’s last minute — we’ll see what they come up with,” Bradford said, adding that the Santa Ynez Rotary Club had indicated that it hoped to host a simple fireworks show.

However, the club’s Tammy Westwood told Noozhawk on Wednesday the club initially had canceled the show because of a number of uncertainties.

“At this time, we have canceled the 4th of July Fireworks Show due to the uncertainty of large crowd gathering restrictions during the COVID pandemic, managing crowd control concerns and financial obligations to put together a show without fundraising and in a much shorter timeframe,” Westwood said. “We are reassessing, but it may not be possible to get the fireworks in our area this late. We will keep the community updated.”

Santa Maria, Lompoc and Guadalupe still will allow nonprofit groups to sell safe and sane fireworks, which can be used only in those cities on July 4. Personal use of any fireworks, including those with the state’s safe and sane deal, is banned in the cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria, Solvang and Buellton plus the unincorporated areas of the county.

This story was originally published May 27, 2021 at 12:29 PM.