Good morning. It’s the big one — Fourth of July weekend, and it lands on a Saturday, which means three full days of parades, fireworks, and beach traffic you’ll happily sit in. Grab the coffee. ☕

This week in OC: Huntington Beach has been throwing its Independence Day parade since 1904. Saturday’s is the 122nd annual — Surf City basically invented the OC Fourth, and it’s still the one everybody else measures against.

In today’s Buzz:

— Kevin

Surf City’s Fourth is the biggest party in the county — and it’s an all-day affair. Huntington Beach has run this celebration since 1904, and the 2026 edition is its 122nd. Saturday, July 4, downtown HB goes full Americana: a Surf City 5K at 7am, the 122nd Annual Parade down Main Street at 10am (150+ groups, broadcast live on ABC7), a Pier Plaza carnival and entertainment all afternoon, and the payoff — Fireworks Over the Ocean, launched off the end of the HB Pier at 9pm.

It is the most OC way there is to spend the Fourth: feet in the sand, fireworks over the water. One move — get downtown early (parade crowds are no joke), and stake out pier-view sand by late afternoon.

More: The official HB 4th of July site

Can’t make it to HB? Fireworks are everywhere Saturday night: the free Costa Mesa celebration at the OC Fairgrounds (fireworks 9:30pm), Newport’s Old Glory Boat Parade on the harbor (boats out at 1pm), Newport Dunes over the Back Bay, Anaheim Hills at Peralta Canyon Park (9pm), Dana Point Harbor, plus Disneyland and Knott’s.

Full county map here.

Forward this to the friend who saves the same patch of HB sand every Fourth.

The Fourth lands Saturday, so the whole weekend’s in play (Fri July 3 – Sun July 5):

🎆 Huntington Beach 4th of July— Sat July 4. The county’s marquee Fourth: 5K at 7am, the 122nd parade at 10am, carnival on Pier Plaza, fireworks off the pier at 9pm.

🇺🇸 Costa Mesa Independence Day Celebration — Fri July 3, OC Fairgrounds. The city’s free family party the night before the Fourth — gates at 4pm, fireworks at 9:30pm. Bring chairs and a picnic, and beat Saturday’s crowds.

⛵ Old Glory Boat Parade — Newport Harbor, Sat July 4, boats out at 1pm. Decorated boats cruise the harbor for the American Legion’s patriotic parade. Grab a spot on Balboa Island or hop the ferry and watch it go by.

🎶 July 4 at Newport Dunes— Sat July 4. Live music, food trucks, and a fireworks show over the Back Bay at the Dunes waterfront. (Ticketed/parking — confirm the program.)

🐕 Anaheim Hills Fourth of July — Sat July 4, Peralta Canyon Park. A Firecracker run, pancake breakfast, the Yankee Doodle Dog Show, a community parade, live music, and fireworks at 9pm. The wholesome inland option.

(Double-check times before you go — events move.)

I’ve got three of them, and this week the plan writes itself: the fireworks ARE the activity. Here’s how I’m running the Fourth without losing my mind (or my parking spot).

Make a whole day of one show. The trick with little kids is daytime lead-up so the 9pm fireworks aren’t a meltdown. HB (carnival and parade all day, then fireworks off the pier) and Anaheim Hills (Yankee Doodle Dog Show, pancake breakfast, parade) both run kid stuff all day before the night show. Pick one, go early, pace the snacks.

Fireworked out? Free movie in the park. OC Parks’ Sunset Cinema runs free Friday-night movies all summer — free parking, food trucks on site — across Craig, Mason, Yorba, Irvine, Laguna Niguel and more. A cheap, low-key Friday if the kids have had enough booms.

Standing summer plays: Knott’s Soak City is open, the Crystal Cove tide pools are free and great, and the Irvine Park Railroad never misses with the little ones.

More: the OC Parks Sunset Cinema schedule

Rocoto Pesca Bar — Huntington Beach. This bright Peruvian spot landed near the HB pier last summer, and it’s exactly what you want after standing on Main Street all parade morning: ceviche, tiraditos, and a proper lomo saltado a block from the sand. Order the ceviche, get a pisco something, and let the post-fireworks crowd fight over parking.

Costa Mesa pick if you’d rather stay near the spotlight: Casa de Onda — coastal Mexican under palapas, string lights, and firepits. Elite golden-hour patio.

(beachhead spotlight #3 — HB and Newport got the first two)

Costa Mesa carries the spotlight this week, and it’s got a real Fourth-of-July hook plus the county’s culture engine:

(realtor-bridge section)

Market pulse (June 2026): OC’s median list price is sitting around $1.97M, while the median sold price is about $1.24M — and the countywide sale-to-list ratio is running right at 100% (homes closing at exactly asking). Inventory has climbed past 4,800 active listings, the most since last September, and homes are averaging roughly 37–59 days on market depending on who’s counting. Translation: still pricey, but cooler and more balanced than a year ago.

The watch listing: 9 Sailcrest, Newport Coast — asking ~$37.5M. The ~11,000 sq ft, 6-bedroom Pelican Crest estate belongs to frozen-foods billionaire Paul Merage — yes, the Hot Pockets guy, and the name on UCI’s business school. Guard-gated, ocean views, wine cellar, theater, pool, gym. It listed at $40M back in early 2025 and has been chasing a buyer since, the kind of trophy house that explains why OC’s luxury tier keeps making headlines.

More: 9 Sailcrest on Redfin

The Golden Bear, Huntington Beach.

For decades, the most famous stage in Orange County was a little brick room on Pacific Coast Highway. The Golden Bear opened in 1923, became a music club, and from the ‘60s into the ‘80s somehow booked everyone: Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Neil Young, Patti Smith, Dick Dale. A few hundred people, a low ceiling, legends three feet away.

The last show was Robin Trower, January 1986. Months later — 40 years ago this year — the wrecking ball took it down, a casualty of seismic-retrofit costs and downtown redevelopment. There’s a commemorative plaque downtown now, and the name’s even been revived for a new venue up in Anaheim. But the original? Gone. If you caught a show there, you’re part of a very lucky club.

Did you ever see a show at the Golden Bear? Hit reply with your favorite OC memory — best one gets featured next week.

That’s the week. Happy Fourth — whatever you do, do it with your feet in the sand if you can.

Two tiny favors:

1. Hit reply with the OC spot you’d bring back from the dead — I’m collecting them for Remember When.

2. Forward this to the one friend who has strong opinions about which OC fireworks show is actually the best. Settle it this weekend.

See you next week.

— Kevin

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