Weaverville Old Fashioned Fourth of July Celebration

At 6 a.m. on the Fourth of July an anvil goes off at Lowden Park, beside the pool, and Weaverville wakes up. The Weaverville Lions Club, which runs the celebration, lists the anvil firing under “Loud Noises” and asks people to come watch it, not just hear it. A lucky onlooker may be handed the card that sets off the blast. Izzy Arbuckle, grandson of Grandpa Arbuckle, has taken over the family anvil firing. At the same hour the Lions meet at the Scout House, load more than 160 flags, and carry them to Main Street. Main Street is also Highway 299, and it closes through town later that morning for the parade.

Four days in Lowden Park

Visit Trinity lists the event as Weaverville’s Old Fashioned 4th of July Celebration and describes three days of parade, fireworks and music. The Trinity Journal calls it a four-day celebration organized by numerous nonprofits. In 2026 it opened at 4 p.m. Thursday, July 2, and ran through Sunday, July 5, under the theme “250 Years of Independence.” The opening, called the Lions Roar, had a welcome, the flag salute, the national anthem, and a short history of the country.

Shade cloths hang over the park and misters run. Visitors’ cars stay outside the park boundaries, and the Golden Age Center transit bus carries people free between the park and downtown. The Lions hold the liquor licenses for the weekend, so all beer comes from their booth. In 2026 the booth’s tips went to TASA for animal shelter costs. Most events are free or cheap. A $10 button, sold alongside T-shirts and cups, pays for the pancake breakfast on the morning of the Fourth.

The program is mostly contests, nearly all of them with “Lions” in the name:

• Ax throwing. Throwers aim at a timber round brought by Trinity River Lumber Company, with a beer can set in the middle, and try to split the can. In 2026 the contest moved into the Little League ball field. The Journal reported that the wood was seasoned this time, so more axes were expected to stick.
• Swimming and cannonballs. The pool offers three days of free swimming and three days of cannonball contests. At the third annual contest, in 2026, the day-three winners were aged 7, 12, 17 and 39.
• Lawn and table games. There are horseshoes, corn hole, a free hoop shoot open to all ages, and softball. The cribbage tournament’s 2025 champion, Ivan Wells, donated new boards and cards.
• Pump track racing. The course was designed by the Trinity Trail Alliance. The Journal says the Miller kids and many other locals always turn up for the first-place plaques.
• Lion Martin Kids Day. Named for Lion Grant Martin and run by Lion Tina (Adrian) and her family, it sticks to sack races, egg-on-a-spoon and a watermelon eating contest.
• Mud races. Racers must wear closed-toe shoes.
• Chicken Drop Bingo. The Weaverville Garden Club added it in 2026.
• Golf ball water cannon. The Rotary Club, the Soroptimists and the Weaverville Fire Department sell tickets on golf balls that firefighters blow out of a water cannon. The prize is $1,000, and proceeds help send a kid to camp.
• Bocce and golf. Sunday is for a bocce tournament and a golf scramble at Trinity Alps Golf Course.

At night the crowd moves to the Lions Stage. Hook, a Redding band, was booked for the Thursday street dance. Singer Jane Love-Morrison said: “The five dynamic musicians that make up HOOK will play your favorite tunes from the ‘80s, ‘90s and early 2000s — with a sprinkling of hits from other eras.” Liquid Amber, also from Redding, played Friday and paused for the fireworks, the Chamber of Commerce’s show at 10 p.m. from Weaverville Elementary School. Big Hoot, a Weaverville band, was also on the bill. Across town, the Trinity Alps Players staged “American History in 60 Minutes — A Kid’s Sketch Comedy.”

Rodeo night and the derby

The Lions produced much of the 2026 celebration on their own, and they brought back two ticketed events: $25 each, or $40 for both. On Friday, July 3, Camacho Livestock of Red Bluff put on the Lions Rodeo, with barrel racing, bull riding and CCPRA-sanctioned events. Trinity River Lumber Company was the main sponsor. The Journal noted it had been years since the Lions hosted a rodeo. In 2022 the bulls had come another way: Diamond Productions’ National Bullriding Championships presented “The Bayley NBC Independence Day 2022” in the Lowden Park rodeo arena.

The Lions Destruction Derby ran on the Fourth. A new Power Wheels Derby for children 3 to 13 ran alongside it. Dogs on leash are welcome in the park but not at the derby.

The short 2026 weekend cost some regular events. There was no Lions Patriotic Dog Parade, no arm wrestling, no Lions barbecue, and no Stars, Stripes & Smiles Kids Pool Party.

Main Street on the Fourth

On the morning of the Fourth the celebration moves from the park into town. At the Cook Shack the Clampers cook and flip pancakes alongside the Lions for hundreds of people. The Journal asked diners to arrive by 9:30 so both crews could clean up and get to the parade. In 2022 the breakfast and the anvil firing both operated from Fire Station No. 1 on Bremer Street, where a plate without a button cost $6.

Runners and walkers start the day on the new all-weather track at Trinity High School. Track coach Joanne Harper and her group have organized the fun run for many years. The arts and crafts fair fills the Highland Art Center meadow. Trinity Congregational Church, with help from the community, bakes pies for its ice cream social.

The Rotary Club of Weaverville runs the parade, which is free to watch. In 2022 it set off at 11:30 a.m. from Main and Court streets toward Bremer Street. Afterward the Weaverville Volunteer Fire Department opens its station for a barbecue, hand pumper demonstrations, and its new fire museum. Trinity High School alumni gather on the south lawn of Lowden Park from 1 to 4 p.m., dressed in red and white, and sing the school song at about 1:30. The class of 1976 held a reunion there in 2026.

All weekend, downtown offers stamp mill demonstrations and tours of the Joss House and the Jake Jackson Museum. Whatever the weekend earns, the Lions spend on scholarships, sponsorships and service projects. The club dates from 1959.

Bells from the bicentennial

Before the parade, people gather at the Main Street Bandstand carrying bells. The Bell Ringing was started for the nation’s bicentennial in 1976 by Leonard Morris and Shirley Callahan, and Morris officiated for many years. At the 40th annual ringing, in 2016, the program honored veterans with a color guard, and Sharon Scott led “The Star Spangled Banner.” The master of ceremonies was Scott Morris, Leonard’s grandson, who was again listed as host in 2026.

By custom, people tell the history of their bells before an 11 a.m. countdown, and then everyone rings together for two minutes. In 2016 young Robert Marshall Jr. of Weaverville brought his family’s old freight wagon bells, once used to warn everyone within hearing that a mule team was coming. Gail Wilde of Weaverville keeps the guest book. Callahan’s grandson, Shawn Williamson, brings out the old Weaverville Grammar School bell for its yearly appearance.