Parade in Old Town to Kick off Fourth of July

The city’s Fourth of July celebration kicks off at 10 a.m. Wednesday with a Star Spangled parade in Old Town.

This year the parade has close to 70 entries including service clubs, pageant winners, boy scouts and marching bands.
The parade according to the North County Times will also have more than 100 cyclists from the Temecula Bike Coalition led by co-founder Zak Shwank.

The coalition aims to increase awareness of cyclists and
safety issues, and to boost the number of youngsters who ride to school.

A 9-foot- tall birthday cake from the Murrieta-Temecula Republican Assembly board will be a sweet site along the parade route that will run
south to north on Old Town Front Street.

Parade guests will also enjoy seeing a dozen horses of differing
breeds and colors from Temecula Eq-Wine Riders, a Wine Country equestrian club.

Old Town Front Street will be closed from around 9 a.m. to noon the day of the parade. Parking is available in the city's garage near the Civic
Center, but access from the north end of Old Town via Mercedes Street will be closed about 9:45 a.m.

The holiday celebration will move after the parade to the
Ronald Reagan Sports Park starting at 2 p.m.

The park will have close to 20 food and beverage vendors, a kid’s
fun zone and entertainment on the main stage until 9 p.m. The fireworks show is slated to begin at 9 p.m. and  accompanied by music broadcast on KATY 101.3 FM. RV parking is prohibited in the lots near the park, but they
can be parked on Rancho Vista after 8 a.m. Monday in designated areas. There are no hookups.

The city does not allow alcohol or glass containers at the park, and all dogs must be leashed. There also is no staking or roping off areas for seating.

About 15,000 people are expected to turn out for Temecula's
festivities.