Four Ways to Celebrate the Fourth in Columbia

This Fourth of July in Columbia there are several ways to get into the spirit.

River Hill Independence Day Parade—The 16th annual River Hill Independence Day Parade will take place at 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 4, on Great Star Drive. The parade lasts one hour and travels along a 2.2-mile route, starting at Pointers Run Elementary School and ending on Signal Bell Lane. There will be fire trucks, vintage automobiles, floats, scouts and Precision Lawn Chair Marching Dads. The parade is a rain-or-shine event.

Longfellow Parade: The parade starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 4. Lineup begins at 9:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the Longfellow Pool. Before the parade takes off, there will be a short program including the Pledge of Allegiance, National Anthem and Grand Marshal and Good Neighbor introductions. At 10 a.m., the route travels from Hesperus Drive, takes a left on Eliot’s Oak and ends at the other end of Hesperus Drive. It lasts approximately one hour and anyone can participate. A softball game will follow at noon at Cedar Lane Park.

Allview Area Civic Association Parade—At 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 4, citizens can meet at Atholton Park to decorate their bikes and get floats ready for the parade. Floats, bikes and neighborhood groups will parade around the community as local residents watch from their front yards. Judging begins at 11:15 a.m., with the parade starting at noon on Saturday, July 4, and taking participants from the park on Donleigh Drive, left onto Wesleigh Drive and left onto Greenleigh Drive before concluding back at the park, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Lakefront Fireworks Show—Pre-fireworks entertainment, including a children’s stage, starts at 5 p.m. Capital Style performs from 7 to 9:30 p.m., then fireworks go off at dark on Saturday, July 4. The rain date is Sunday, July 5, for fireworks only.

Little Patuxent Parkway will be shut down sometime between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. and will not open until after the fireworks. People can put blankets out starting at 8 a.m. on July 4, and tarps can go down at 3 p.m. No boats are allowed on the lake July 3 to 5. People are encouraged to arrive early to avoid traffic congestion. See map here. Vendors will sell food, and people can bring their own as well.

See Also: What’s Open, Closed in Howard County on July 4.

Screenshot from YouTube/River Hill Community Association.