4th of July parade in Benicia, CA

4^th of July parade in Benicia, California

Benicia is a small town on the edge of the San Francisco Bay Area.  Even though we are very near to such a large metropolitan city, we manage to maintain our “Main Street” atmosphere in this small community.  Benicia’s 4^th of July parade is a celebration of just that.

Allowing us to stretch the  holiday to two days, the Benicia 4th of July parade customarily happens on July 3^rd starting at 6:30.  Folks even bring their lawn chairs and blankets along First Street and start claiming their spot on the sidewalk a day before.  Based on the size of the crowd it seems that everyone in town and even people from other towns all come to watch.

The parade has fire trucks, clowns, old cars, horses, farm tractors and more.  This year there was a pirate ship and even a shiny tow truck thrown in.  It really is a great event with the local businesses open and serving food and drink as well.

Of course, this Benicia 4^th of July parade is really just the first event in the celebrations.  On the 4^th itself there is the Benicia Picnic in the Park.