Fireworks Near Me: Walnut Creek July 4th 2024 Events

WALNUT CREEK, CA—Independence Day is Thursday, and there are many ways to celebrate in and around Walnut Creek. Area events include fireworks, festivals, and other Fourth of July fun.

To help you fit it all in on your 4th of July calendar, Patch has put together a guide to what’s going on in Walnut Creek and the surrounding areas.

July 4 Festivities For 2024

• 4th Of July Concert 2024: Walnut Creek Concert Band. Annual tradition courtesy of Walnut Creek Concert Band.
• Clayton 4th of July Parade: Celebrating 60 Years As A Community. A local, time-honored tradition.
• Concord 4th Of July Celebration: Parade, Festival, Fireworks, 5K Run/Walk, Pancake Breakfast. Concord-Diablo Rotary will host pancake breakfast, too!
• Town Of Moraga 4th Of July Celebration, Fireworks 2024. All day fun, culminating in the free fireworks show.
• Orinda's 40th 4th of July Parade and Celebration 2024. Full day culminates with concert in the park.
• Pleasant Hill Firecracker 5k Run & Kids 100-Yard Dash 2024. "All proceeds to the Firecracker 5K go to support Pleasant Hill Schools!"
• July 4 Pleasant Hill Downtown Parade 2024. An old-fashioned parade through downtown.
• July 4 Party In The Park Pleasant Hill: 2024. Begins after parade.
• July 4 Fireworks Pleasant Hill 2024. "Grab a blanket and your loved ones and enjoy the show!"
• 4th Of July Parade, Fireworks Show 2024: Martinez. Grand waterfront display hosted by the city.

See our guide to Fourth of July events around the Bay Area. The Walnut Creek Patch Calendar has even more local events.

The First Fourth Of July

Today, Americans celebrate the birth of a new nation with fireworks, parades, concerts and family gatherings and barbecues. The patriotic events, though, predate the designation of Independence Day as a federal holiday by centuries, which didn’t happen until 1941.

During the pivotal summer of 1776, the pre-Revolutionary celebrations honoring King George III’s birthday were replaced with mock funerals as a symbolic break from the crown.

It was an exciting time in Philadelphia — the Continental Congress voted to break from the crown, and two days later, on July 4, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the original 13 colonies —New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland. Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia — to adopt the Declaration of Independence.

The inaugural commemoration of the nation’s independence took place July 4, 1777, in Philadelphia while the Revolutionary War was still going on. Ever since that first celebration in Philadelphia, fireworks have been part of the Fourth of July festivities.