Fourth of July, Christmas, and other small-town holidays in the West
Fourth of July, Christmas, and other small-town holidays across the West, each compiled from its own sources: the date, the parade route, and the fireworks.
Point at a dot to see the place.Tap a dot to see the place.
Arizona
California
- 4th of July ParadeIdyllwild · Independence day paradeIdyllwild's Fourth of July parade, run by the Rotary Club down North Circle Drive in the San Jacinto Mountains, began in 1966 with children, pets, and a baby burro.
- Benicia Torchlight Parade and Fourth of July PicnicBenicia · Annual torchlight paradeAn evening parade down First Street in Benicia, California, each July 3, begun by the volunteer fire department when handheld torches were its only light.
- Burney Basin DaysBurney · ParadeBurney's Fourth of July celebration in Shasta County, California, run by the chamber of commerce, with a Main Street parade, a deep-pit barbecue and a burro race.
- Felton Remembers Parade and Covered Bridge FestivalFelton · FestivalA parade honoring military service followed by live music and food, drink and specialty vendors at Covered Bridge Park.
- Fourth of July Block PartyCloverdale · Community eventA free Independence Day afternoon on the carnival lot of the Cloverdale Citrus Fair, where townspeople bring their own Safe & Sane fireworks to light after dark.
- Fourth of July ParadeNovato · ParadeNovato's Fourth of July parade, run by volunteers along seven-tenths of a mile of Grant Avenue in Marin County, descends from township parades documented as early as 1908.
- Fourth of July Parade and CelebrationsMammoth Lakes · Fourth of july parade & celebrationsA Fourth of July parade in Mammoth Lakes, California, down Old Mammoth Road and Main Street, where in 2026 a record field of floats followed Olympic medalist Deena Kastor.
- Fourth of July Parade, Festival & FireworksConcord · July 4th celebrationConcord's Fourth of July in Contra Costa County, California: pancakes and a parade looping Todos Santos Plaza, then a free, alcohol-free festival and fireworks at Mt. Diablo High School.
- Graeagle Independence Day CelebrationGraeagle · Independence day celebrationA three-day Fourth of July celebration in Graeagle, Plumas County, California, held for more than fifty years, paid for by donations, with fireworks over the old mill-town Mill Pond.
- Holiday Parade and MarketBenicia · Holiday parade & marketBenicia's downtown Christmas parade and holiday market, staged on First Street by Benicia Main Street, where in 2025 Santa rode an Army Jeep handing out candy canes.
- Independence WeekendPoint Arena · Independence day parade and fireworks festivalFireworks festival at the Point Arena Pier and a downtown Main Street parade over the Independence weekend.
- Los Molinos 4th of July Parade and PlaydayLos Molinos · Annual parade and playday at the parkTehama County's longest-running Fourth of July parade comes down Highway 99E in Los Molinos behind an honorary mayor elected by fundraiser, then breaks for sack races in Mill Creek Park.
- Moke Hill Fourth of July ParadeMokelumne Hill · Annual 4th of july independence day celebrationThe Fourth of July on Main Street in Mokelumne Hill, a Calaveras County Gold Rush town, where pancakes at the Town Hall precede an eleven o'clock parade past rhyolite buildings.
- Ojai Independence Day Parade and FireworksOjai · Independence day celebrationOjai, California's volunteer-run Independence Day: a free Libbey Bowl concert on July 3, a morning parade down Ojai Avenue, and stadium fireworks, all paid for without city money.
- Old Fashioned Fourth of JulyBridgeport · Annual 4th of july celebrationBridgeport's Old Fashioned Fourth of July, a multi-day celebration in the Mono County seat, held its 164th edition in 2026, with a grease-pole climb and a ranch rodeo.
- Tree Lighting FestivalDixon · Christmas tree lighting festivalDowntown Dixon's December festival in Solano County, California, lights the business association's Christmas tree, and in 2025 the city closed downtown streets and Highway 113 for it.
- Truckee 4th of July ParadeTruckee · Independence day paradeTruckee, California's Fourth of July parade runs 1.5 miles down Donner Pass Road into downtown, where in 1882 a stagecoach called the Big Bonanza carried the organizers.
- Weaverville Old Fashioned Fourth of July CelebrationWeaverville · 4th of july celebrationA four-day Fourth of July in Weaverville, Trinity County, California, run by the Lions Club from Lowden Park, where an anvil fired at 6 a.m. wakes the town.
- Winters Tractor Parade and Tree LightingWinters · Holiday traditionDecorated tractors and floats, tree lighting and a holiday celebration for the whole community.
Colorado
- Deltarado Days and Western Sky Balloon FestivalDelta · Balloon festivalDelta, Colorado's Fourth of July weekend of dawn balloon launches at Confluence Park, joined to a festival that began in 1920 as a banquet for sugar-beet growers.
- Fourth of July CelebrationCrestone · Community-wide fourth of july celebrationCrestone's Independence Day in Saguache County, Colorado, runs from a morning 5K through a noon parade to a gravity-powered soap box derby on the Galena Avenue hill.
- Georgetown DaysGeorgetown · Collection of events to honor veterans and kick off the summer seasonGeorgetown Days fills Memorial Day weekend in Georgetown, Colorado, with the reopening of Guanella Pass, a veterans' pancake breakfast, and a pack burro race run on foot.
- Gold Camp Country ChristmasCripple Creek · Christmas paradeCripple Creek's December Saturday of cider, a noon parade up Bennett Avenue, and Santa at the Aspen Mine Center, with most proceeds going to the town's Community of Caring.
- Louisville Labor Day Parade and Fall FestivalLouisville · Annual labor day celebrationLouisville's Labor Day Parade and Fall Festival, the only Labor Day parade in Boulder County, Colorado, came down Main Street for the ninetieth time in 2026, in a former coal town.
Idaho
- Bayview DazeBayview · Annual independence celebrationBayview Daze, the first-weekend-of-July celebration in Bayview, Idaho, ends Saturday night with a lighted boat parade and fireworks over Lake Pend Oreille, paid for with donations collected at the parade.
- Buhl Sagebrush DaysBuhl · Fourth of july celebrationBuhl Sagebrush Days is the Chamber of Commerce's Fourth of July celebration in Buhl, Idaho, a parade-and-fireworks weekend that opens with a fish supper in a self-described trout capital.
- Fourth of July CelebrationCouncil · ParadeCouncil, Idaho, holds a Chamber of Commerce Fourth of July whose parade ends at a school football field, where porcupines caught the night before race across the grass.
- Hailey Days of the Old WestHailey · FestivalsHailey, Idaho's Fourth of July celebration: a Main Street parade, fireworks at dusk, and a rodeo produced by the Sawtooth Rangers riding club since the late 1940s.
Montana
- Dillon History DaysDillon · Community eventA three-day July celebration in downtown Dillon, Montana, planned in 2020 as History Days, where songwriters draw a title and get 24 hours to write a cowboy song.
- Freedom DaysWhite Sulphur Springs · Independence day celebrationFreedom Days is White Sulphur Springs, Montana's Fourth of July, a day that runs from a 7 a.m. fun run to volunteer fire department fireworks over the Springs Park baseball fields.
- Great Montana Sheep Drive and Labor Day CelebrationReed Point · Labor day celebrationReed Point, Montana's Labor Day sheep drive began in 1989 as a spoof of the state's centennial cattle drive and still sends about 500 sheep down the town's street.
- Milk River DaysHinsdale · Independence day celebrationHinsdale, Montana's Independence Day celebration on Montana Street, begun for the 1976 bicentennial, opens with a rodeo and free street dance on July 3.
- Seeley Lake 4th of July CelebrationSeeley Lake · 4th of july celebrationSeeley Lake, Montana, keeps the Fourth with a parade led on horseback, fireworks over the lake at 10:30, and, beginning in 2026, outhouse races on the fifth.
- Troy Old Fashioned 4th of JulyTroy · 4th of july celebrationTroy's Old Fashioned 4th of July, a free, volunteer-run day in Roosevelt Park on the Kootenai River in northwest Montana, draws more than 6,000 people to a town of 950.
Nevada
- Eureka Fourth of July CelebrationEureka · 4th of july celebrationEureka, Nevada's Fourth of July, run by the volunteer fire department on Main Street, where the adult egg toss pays $100 and fireworks rise from a ridgetop.
- Fourth of July and Gridley DaysAustin · Annual town eventsAustin, Nevada's Fourth of July: a parade, barbecue, fireworks, and the Gridley Days rodeo, named for a merchant who lost an 1864 bet and carried flour through town.
- Labor Day on the Comstock and C Street paradesVirginia City · ParadesVirginia City's Labor Day weekend on Nevada's Comstock, where Union and Confederate reenactors fight over the saloons of North C Street just before the annual workers' parade.
- Moapa Valley Independence DayLogandale · Independence day celebrationA free, dawn-to-night Fourth of July at the Clark County Fairgrounds in Logandale, Nevada, where the fire district's engines hose down the crowd before noon.
- Red, White Pine, and Blue Independence Day FestivalEly · Community-wide festivalEly, Nevada's four-day Fourth of July festival, where Highway 50 closes for the parade and a cannon built for the 1876 centennial was polished for the nation's 250th.
Oregon
- Creswell 4th of July CelebrationCreswell · 4th of july celebrationAn all-day Independence Day in Creswell, Oregon, with pancakes at Holt Park, a parade and fireworks at dusk, whose parade began, by one account, with a fire truck in 1992.
- Fort Dalles FourthThe Dalles · Community-driven independence day celebrationFort Dalles Fourth is The Dalles, Oregon's free Independence Day celebration, held since 2014, closing each Fourth with fireworks fired from a barge on the Columbia River.
- Fourth of July CelebrationIone · CelebrationIone's Fourth of July, in southern Morrow County, Oregon, opens at the volunteer firefighters' griddle in the city park and closes with fireworks seen from anywhere in town.
- Holiday Tree LightingCornelius · Holiday tree lighting ceremonyCornelius, Oregon's December tree lighting at Veterans Memorial Park on Baseline Street, where Santa and the mayor light the tree and lead a walk to the elementary school.
- Independence Day CelebrationButte Falls · 4th of july celebrationButte Falls, the smallest incorporated town in Jackson County, Oregon, holds an early-July parade that circles downtown twice before the volunteer firefighters serve tri-tip.
- Independence Day CelebrationCanby · Annual independence day celebrationCanby, Oregon's city-run Fourth of July, once called General Canby Day, fills downtown streets around Wait Park with a parade, street fair, and car show, ending with volunteer firefighters' fireworks.
- July 4th Festival and Grand ParadeMonmouth · July 4th festivalMonmouth and Independence, Oregon, share a two-day Fourth of July whose modern form began in 1973 as a mock Winter Olympics held in summer.
- La De Da Parade & 4th of JulyYachats · Independence day celebrationYachats's Independence Day on the central Oregon coast, built around the people-powered La De Da Parade, where an umbrella drill team twirls to Marine Corps drill.
- Mill City 4th of July CelebrationMill City · Annual independence day eventAnnual Independence Day celebration at Kimmel Park.
- Oakridge Independence Day FestivalOakridge · 4th of july celebrationA free two-day Independence Day festival in Oakridge, Oregon, ending at Greenwaters Park beside a fork of the Willamette with what organizers call Lane County's longest fireworks show.
- Old Fashioned 4th of JulyHarrisburg · FestivalA three-day volunteer Fourth of July in Harrisburg, Oregon, with a riverfront gazebo, a boat flag parade at eight, and fireworks paid for entirely by donations.
- Old-Fashioned 4th of JulyWillamina · Annual traditionVolunteer organization dedicated to celebrating our community.
- Oregon Trail DaysVale · Annual event celebrating patriotismLive music, entertainment, food, activities and vendors.
- Rockaway Beach 4th of July CelebrationRockaway Beach · Annual 4th of july celebrationThe Fourth of July in Rockaway Beach, Oregon: a parade on Highway 101, dachshund races, and fireworks launched by the volunteer fire department over the Pacific.
- Wee Bit O'IrelandHeppnerA St. Patrick's weekend festival in Heppner, Oregon, held for the Irish who farmed the east side of Willow Creek, with a Great Green Parade down Main Street.
Utah
- Hub City DaysMount Pleasant · Annual hub city days celebrationHub City Days, Mt. Pleasant's week-long Fourth of July celebration in Sanpete County, Utah, ends with three nights of rodeo, a Mammoth Parade and fireworks after dark.
- Pioneer Days CelebrationMonroe · Pioneer days celebrationMonroe's three-day Pioneer Day observance in Sevier County, Utah, opens its final morning with the Milk Run, a footrace named for the seven dairies its first course passed.
- Tomato DaysHooper · City parkHooper Tomato Days, a Labor Day week festival at the park and rodeo arena in Hooper, Utah, where a well-fed cow is turned loose on a grid of five-dollar squares.
Washington
- Come and Play on Labor DaySouth Bend · FestivalSince 1962, South Bend, Washington, has closed out summer with a Labor Day weekend whose rubber-duck race on the Willapa River pays for fireworks that cost $1,000 a minute.
- Grand Old Fourth of JulyBainbridge Island · Town days celebrationBainbridge Island's one-day Independence Day festival in downtown Winslow, produced by the chamber of commerce since 1967, whose parade a longtime staffer recalled once going around twice.
- Viking FestPoulsbo · Annual festivalA free three-day festival on the Liberty Bay waterfront of Poulsbo, Washington, begun in 1969 for Norway's Constitution Day, with a parade and a lutefisk eating contest.
- Washtucna Independence Day CelebrationWashtucna · Independence day celebrationWashtucna, Washington's Fourth of July in Bassett Park: a kiddie parade, a band-served picnic, and a horseshoe open at Sonny's Tavern, revived in 2023 after the Lions Club dwindled.
- Yacolt Freedom ParadeYacolt · ParadeA Fourth of July parade through Yacolt, Washington, a Clark County logging town that took its name from a Klickitat word for "haunted place."
Wyoming
- Big Piney Chuckwagon DaysBig Piney and Marbleton · Independence celebrationBig Piney and Marbleton's Fourth of July in Sublette County, Wyoming: pancakes, a parade, free barbecue, fireworks off Marbleton Hill, and a rodeo dating to the 1930s.
- Meeteetse Labor Day CelebrationMeeteetse · Labor day weekend celebrationMeeteetse, Wyoming has held a Labor Day weekend celebration since 1912, and its Monday rodeo has also been the Big Horn Rodeo Circuit Finals since 2015.
- Pine Haven DaysPine Haven · Labor day celebrationPine Haven Days, the Labor Day weekend celebration of a Crook County, Wyoming, town bordered by Keyhole Reservoir, where golf carts join the parade and firemen cook Sunday pancakes.
- Saratoga DaysSaratoga · Downtown street dance and festivitiesAn old-fashioned celebration-including live music, an art show, barbecues, car show, reunions, a parade and kids activities!
More under The Calendar: Fairs & Rodeos, Town Festivals, and Old-Time Music.