July 4 Parades, Fireworks Displays Planned In & Around IE

RIVERSIDE (CNS) - Parades and fireworks celebrating America's 243rd birthday are scheduled throughout the Inland Empire today.
   In Riverside County, Corona's traditional ``Main Street U.S.A Parade'' will begin at 9 a.m. at Ontario and Main streets, featuring law enforcement units, fire engines, marching bands, military hardware and show animals. The procession will travel about a mile, concluding at Olive and Main streets around noon. A fireworks show is set for 9 p.m. in Santana Park, 598 Santana Way.
   Moreno Valley's ``Fourth of July Parade'' will get underway at 9:30 a.m. in the intersection of Alessandro Boulevard and Frederick Street, concluding two hours later on Towngate Avenue. The celebration will continue at 2 p.m. in Morrison Park, near Dracaea Avenue and Morrison Street, where a
``Family FunFest'' is planned, complete with several rock bands, a beer garden and kids' activities. Fireworks are scheduled after sundown.
   The city of San Jacinto's ``Independence Day Parade & Street
Festival'' will start at 9 a.m. at Main Street and Camino Los Banos, traveling
a half-mile west on Main to Jordan Avenue. Tractors, classic cars, motorcycles
and military equipment will be in the parade, led by members of each service
branch, who will stop outside American Legion Post 848, where a street fair is
planned. Festivities will move to Valley-Wide Recreation & Sport District
Regional Park, 901 W. Esplanade Ave., where fireworks will be displayed after
dark.
   At 10 a.m., Temecula's ``Star Spangled Parade'' will be held,
featuring the Temecula Valley Mounted Posse, Veterans of Foreign Wars, members
of the American Legion, the Riverside County Fire Department, the Boy Scouts of
America and other organizations. The parade will run east to west, from Old
Town Front and Second streets to Sixth Street and Moreno Road. There will be
pyrotechnics in Ronald Reagan Sports Park after dark.
   In addition to the above venues, Independence Day fireworks shows are
scheduled at the following locations, beginning shortly before 9 p.m.:
   -- Banning, Nicolet Middle School, 101 E. Nicolet St.;
   -- Beaumont, Stewart Park, Ninth Street and Orange Avenue;
   -- Blythe, Colorado River Fairgrounds, 591 N. Olive Blvd.;
   -- Canyon Lake, Holiday Harbor, 22-200 Canyon Club Drive;
   -- Lake Elsinore, off the levee, Lakeshore Drive;
   -- Lake Elsinore, Storm Stadium, 500 Diamond Drive;
   -- Norco, Silver Lakes, 5555 Hamner Ave.;
   -- Palm Desert, Civic Center Park, Fred Waring Drive and San Pablo Avenue;
   -- Palm Springs Stadium, 1901 E. Baristo Road;
   -- Rancho Mirage, Agua Caliente Casino, Resort & Spa, 32-250 Bob Hope
Drive;
   -- Riverside, Evergreen Memorial Historic Cemetery, 14th and Pine streets;
   -- Riverside, La Sierra Park, 5215 La Sierra Ave.;
   -- Riverside, Mount Rubidoux Park, 4706 Mt. Rubidoux Drive; and
   -- Temecula, Pechanga Resort Casino, 45000 Pechanga Parkway.
   In Riverside County, private parties are prohibited from using
fireworks except in Blythe, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs and
Indio, where so-called ``safe and sane'' fireworks, certified by the state fire
marshal, can be sold to the public.
   The devices are mostly pyrotechnics that don't explode or fly,
including sparklers, ground spinners, fountains, snappers and caps.
Municipalities can authorize fireworks demonstrations, and the county grants
permits for shows in unincorporated communities.
   Under county Ordinance 858, fines for illegally storing, transporting
or setting off fireworks can range from $500 to $1,000.
   According to the fire department, any person who triggers a brush fire
due to the illegal use of fireworks will be held responsible for all
suppression costs.