Benicia Freedom Festival: What To Know

From Benicia Main Street: Festivities Scheduled for Benicia’s July 3rd & 4th Freedom Festival:

July 3rd Torchlight Parade—Downtown Benicia

Join this waterfront community in showing patriotism and pride this summer by participating in the Freedom Festival activities in Downtown Benicia. The Torchlight Parade will kick off the festivities on July 3rd at 6:30pm.

Grand Marshal
The Grand Marshal this year is Tim and Jeannie Hamann of Hamann Real Estate. Located on First Street, Hamann Real Estate has been in business for 21 years. Tim and Jeannie have participated in Relay for Life for the last 20 years as Hamann’s Hearts for a Cure, fundraising over $300,000 for the American Cancer Society.

In May of 2015, they started The Tim and Jeannie Hamann Foundation to raise money for local cancer patients in their journey of fighting cancer and supporting research. The Foundation has given over $250,000 in assistance to local cancer patients in the last 4 years. The next fundraising event is the 1st Annual Dennis Garvey Big Rib Cook-Off to be held at St. Pat’s/St. Vincent’s on Saturday, September 7th. For more information, visit hamannfoundation.org or stop by Hamann Real Estate at 513 First St.

Parade Info
The parade travels up First Street from D Street to the judging area at Benicia City Park on First and Military Streets. As a courtesy to First Street businesses parade enthusiasts are reminded that chairs should not be placed along the parade route until after 9:00am the morning of July 3rd. They are also asked not to tape or tie the chairs together for safety reasons, and they should be placed back far enough from the curb to allow access in and out of cars during the day.
This parade has seen the turn of two centuries. It is a hometown parade which includes community organizations, clubs and friends and neighbors waving at each other as the parade progresses up the street. The parade is sponsored by the Benicia Main Street.

July 4th Picnic in the Park & Fireworks—Downtown Benicia
The celebratory excitement continues with Picnic in the Park and fireworks display on the 4th of July. The fun begins at noon in Benicia City Park which is located on the corner of Military and First Streets. There is hot food, live entertainment, an open-air market, and lots of fun activities for children until 7:00pm. This event is sponsored by the Benicia Main Street.

For the second year, the 4th of July Stage Sponsor is MCE Clean Energy. MCE is a local default not-for-profit renewable electricity provider in 34 communities across Marin, Napa, Contra Costa and Solano Counties. Their contribution as a Stage Sponsor has helped make musical entertainment for the 4th of July possible.

At approximately 9:00pm a fireworks display begins at the bottom of First Street. Spectators gather on the First Street Green located at the corner of First and B Streets, to watch the display under the stars. This year, the Fireworks will be back to being set off on the pier and not a barge. The fireworks are co-sponsored by the City of Benicia and the Benicia Main Street.

Donations to help defray the costs of these events are always welcomed by Benicia Main Street. Individual patron level sponsors of the Benicia Main Street get 2 passes to the VIP viewing area during the fireworks display. For more information call Benicia Main Street at 707-745-9791.

Schedule of activities for July 4th are as follows:

• Noon - 7:00pm: Picnic in the Park, City Park, Musical Entertainment, Arts and Crafts, Food, Climbing Wall, Train Rides and Inflatable Kids’Entertainment
• 12:00: National Anthem-Tony Turner, Mayor’s Welcome
• 1:00-2:00: Dustin Heer
  
• 2:30-4:30: Michelle Lambert
• 5:00-7:00: TinMan
• 9:00 pm: Fireworks

Note: This year the Fireworks will be back to being set off on the pier and not a barge.

• ALSO SEE: Benicia July 4th Guide To Fireworks, Parades & More 2019