{"id":89287,"date":"2026-07-01T12:50:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T19:50:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/?p=89287"},"modified":"2026-07-01T12:53:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T19:53:26","slug":"things-to-do-in-long-beach-july-4th-weekend-that-arent-all-fireworks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/eat-see-do-2\/do\/things-to-do-in-long-beach-july-4th-weekend-that-arent-all-fireworks","title":{"rendered":"Things to do in Long Beach July 4th weekend \u2014 that aren’t all fireworks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Want a chance to be featured in our weekly events roundup? Add it to our <\/em>free community calendar at <\/em><\/strong>lbpostevents.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. For a guaranteed placement, contact <\/em>ads@lbpost.com<\/em> to purchase a sponsored item.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breakwater Battle (Thursday, July 2 and Friday, July 3)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Crowds fill Horny Corner Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020, in Long Beach. Photo by Brandon Richardson.\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Five-time Olympian water polo player and Long Beach native Tony Azevedo<\/a> will host a local water polo tournament from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both Thursday and Friday. The games can be viewed from around Bayshore Beach \u2014 also known as Horny Corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event is part of the city\u2019s Fourth of July celebration to commemorate the country\u2019s 250th birthday, which will culminate with a fireworks show shot from three barges on Saturday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long Beach Municipal Band (Friday, July 3)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Photo courtesy of Long Beach Partners of Parks.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Starting at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, the Long Beach Municipal Band will continue its 117th season with a performance at El Dorado Park West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In honor of the country\u2019s 250th birthday, the band will be playing \u201cStars and Stripes Forever\u201d and \u201cAmerica the Beautiful\u201d among other tunes to celebrate the occasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visitors are encouraged to bring blankets, chairs and picnic-style dinners and snacks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find the band’s full lineup here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fireworks \u2014 of course (Saturday, July 4)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Light from the exploding fireworks during the annual Independence Day fireworks show illuminates the Queen Mary and the crowd that gathered on the bike path to watch. Photo by Richard H. Grant. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The city has tripled the size<\/a> of its fireworks show this year in honor of the country turning 250.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 9 p.m. on Saturday, fireworks will be launched from three barges: one near the Queen Mary, one near Cherry Avenue and another near Bayshore Avenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means fireworks will light up the sky and be visible from nearly anywhere along the coastline. For fireworks options this weekend, read here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Blade Runner’ and ‘The Exorcist’ at the Art Theatre (Friday, July 3 and Saturday, July 4)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
The Art Theatre is Long Beach’s last standing independent movie theater. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If fireworks aren\u2019t your thing, catch some excitement on the silver screen this weekend with a visit to the Art Theatre on Retro Row.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theater will be showing \u201cBlade Runner: The Final Cut\u201d from 1982 and \u201cThe Exorcist\u201d from 1973 on 16 mm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Head here<\/a> for the showtimes and to buy tickets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aquarium of the Pacific Beach Clean-up (Sunday, July 5)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Louvenia Evans, right, and Vanessa Acosta help to pick up trash along Alamitos Beach in Long Beach, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., you can join fellow volunteers to clean up Junipero Beach the day after Independence Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volunteers are encouraged to bring covered shoes, a reusable water bottle, a hat\/sunglasses and sunscreen. Parking will be provided and can be accessed after you register here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aquarium of the Pacific will provide gloves, buckets, sifters, pickers and trash bags, but you can also bring your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Great Homes Tour: Turn of the Century (Sunday, July 5)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re looking for a stress-free event this Fourth of July weekend, this tour by Long Beach Heritage gives participants the opportunity to explore four historic homes from the 1900s \u201cin various stages of preservation from noon to 3 p.m. this Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the homes have been fully restored, while others are \u201cactively undergoing rehabilitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tour organizers say the choice to showcase ongoing projects will give viewers a glimpse of the \u201cchallenges and triumphs of saving Long Beach\u2019s architectural heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tickets are $44.52 for Long Beach Heritage Members and $55.20 for everyone else. They can be purchased here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yes, there’s a massive fireworks show, but there’s also a free concert, shoreline cleanup and water polo exhibition at the beach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":89289,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"hidden","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"Yes, there's a massive fireworks show, but there's also a free concert, shoreline cleanup and water polo exhibition at the beach.","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32367],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32323],"class_list":["post-89287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-do","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89287"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89291,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89287\/revisions\/89291"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89287"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=89287"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=89287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}