• Home
  • About The Herald
  • Local Agencies
  • Daily Email Update
  • Legal Notices
  • Classified Ads

Contra Costa Herald

News Of By and For The People of Contra Costa County, California

  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Business
  • Community
  • Crime
  • Dining
  • Education
  • Faith
  • Health
  • News
  • Politics & Elections
  • Real Estate

Celebrate America’s 250th Independence Day at “Freedom Over Crockett” with fireworks and more

July 3, 2026 By Publisher Leave a Comment

Honoring America’s Independence • California Heritage • Community Pride

Includes historical walk, live big band music, car show, food and family friendly fun

By Crockett Chamber of Commerce and the Historical Society & Crockett Museum

Get ready for an unforgettable Independence Day celebration in the historic waterfront town of Crockett — a full day of live music, local history, patriotic spirit, community gathering, food, family fun, and hometown pride along the beautiful Carquinez Strait.

This exciting community celebration combines history, entertainment, and small-town Americana into one incredible event designed for residents, visitors, families, and history lovers of all ages.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
A HISTORIC YEAR OF CELEBRATION

This year’s celebration proudly commemorates the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the 250th Anniversary of the Juan Bautista de Anza Expedition, one of the most significant historic journeys in California history.

On July 4, 1776 — the exact same day the Declaration of Independence was being signed in Philadelphia — the Anza Expedition reached its final destination in what would later become San Francisco.

Along their historic journey through California, the expedition passed directly through Crockett, forever connecting our town to one of the most important migrations and exploration routes in the state’s history.

This Fourth of July, the community will honor that incredible legacy by inviting guests to literally walk in the footsteps of history during a guided historical walk experience through Crockett.

The celebration also honors another important milestone in Crockett history — the legacy of the iconic C&H Sugar refinery.

Officially beginning operations in 1906, the refinery now celebrates nearly 120 years of industrial and community history in Crockett.

Today, the refinery continues producing approximately 14% of the nation’s cane sugar, making it one of the most historically important and recognizable landmarks in California industry.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
EVENT INFORMATION

Saturday, July 4, 2026

Event Location: Rithet Park – intersection of Rolph & Loring Avenues, Crockett

FREE ADMISSION

ALL AGES WELCOME

FAMILY-FRIENDLY COMMUNITY EVENT

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
POWERFUL HISTORICAL WALK ON THE ANZA EXPEDITION TRAIL

Walk in the Footsteps of History

Step back in time and experience a living piece of California history right here in Crockett.

Led by Madeline of Hatch Services, this immersive guided historical walk will bring the past to life through engaging storytelling, local historical insight, and a meaningful community experience along the trail route connected to the historic Juan Bautista de Anza Expedition.

Historical Walk Activities Begin at 11:00 AM

Guests will gather at Scouts Hall for refreshments and snacks before beginning the historic walking experience.

Participants will walk to and from the bridge while hearing fascinating stories and historical information about:
• The Juan Bautista de Anza Expedition

  • The settlement and exploration of early California
  • Crockett’s industrial and waterfront heritage
  • The development of the Carquinez Strait region
  • The history and legacy of the C&H Sugar refinery
  • Historic migration routes and local landmarks

The importance of Crockett in California history

This powerful historical experience is designed to educate, inspire, and connect the community through storytelling, patriotism, and cultural heritage.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
LIVE BIG BAND MUSIC

Following the historical walk, guests will return to Rithet Park for an exciting afternoon of live music and celebration featuring:

  • Steve Snyder’s Big Band
  • LIVE from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
  • Enjoy a vibrant Independence Day soundtrack featuring:
  • Classic Big Band Favorites
  • Patriotic American Standards
  • Timeless Jazz Classics
  • Swing & Dance Favorites
  • Community Celebration Music

Bring your lawn chairs, relax with family and friends, and enjoy an authentic hometown Fourth of July atmosphere filled with live entertainment and community spirit.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
FOOD • CARS • FAMILY FUN • COMMUNITY

The celebration will feature an exciting lineup of activities and attractions throughout the day including:

  • Delicious Food Trucks & Local Favorites
  • Community Car Show Featuring Classic & Specialty Vehicles
  • Pie Eating Contest – $150 GRAND PRIZE for the Pie Eating Contest Winner-sign up @ crockettchamber@aol.com
  • Tons of Family-Friendly Activities & Festivities, Bocce court
  • Beautiful Waterfront & Carquinez Strait Views
  • Great Photo Opportunities Throughout the Event
  • Patriotic Community Gathering Areas

Visitors are encouraged to spend the entire day enjoying the festivities, music, food, shopping, and community celebration.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
SHOP AROUND TOWN

Support local businesses during the celebration!

Shops and businesses throughout Crockett will be OPEN and offering SPECIALS during the event.

Guests are encouraged to explore Crockett’s charming downtown businesses, restaurants, local shops, and historic areas while enjoying the Fourth of July festivities.

This celebration is designed not only to honor history and community spirit, but also to help support local businesses and encourage visitors to experience everything Crockett has to offer.

Stop by the Historical Society & Crockett Museum to join in on a time capsule, bring an item and to view the C&H exhibit.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
IMPORTANT EVENT INFORMATION

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

NO ALCOHOL WILL BE SERVED AT THIS EVENT

Guests are encouraged to BRING THEIR OWN COOLERS with beverages and refreshments.

Please BRING YOUR OWN LAWN CHAIRS and picnic seating for comfort during the live music performances and festivities.

Comfortable walking shoes are recommended for those participating in the historical walk experience.

Sunscreen, hats, and bottled water are also encouraged for daytime activities.

This is a FREE, FAMILY-FRIENDLY, ALL-AGES EVENT welcoming residents and visitors from throughout Contra Costa County, the East Bay and beyond.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
A TRUE HOMETOWN AMERICA CELEBRATION

“Freedom Over Crockett” continues the proud tradition of bringing the community together through music, history, patriotism, local culture, and hometown pride.

Historically supported by the Crockett Chamber of Commerce and the Historical Society and Crockett Museum, this annual celebration reflects the heart and spirit of Crockett while honoring:

  • America’s enduring spirit of freedom
  • The 250th Anniversary of the Juan Bautista de Anza Expedition
  • California’s rich historical and cultural heritage
  • Crockett’s industrial and waterfront legacy
  • Community traditions, live music, and family celebration
  • Community unity, local pride, and historical preservation

Whether you are a long-time resident, a returning visitor or experiencing Crockett for the very first time, this unforgettable Fourth of July celebration promises a full day of history, entertainment, family fun, music, food, and patriotic spirit in one of the East Bay’s most unique and historic waterfront communities.

Celebrate Freedom • Celebrate History • Celebrate Crockett

We would like to also thank our Sponsors Phillips 66 and C&H Sugar, celebrating 120 years making sugar in Crockett.

Filed Under: Arts & Entertainment, Business, Community, History, Holiday, Recreation, West County

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Antioch July 4th 2026 Sponsors (1)
RepublicServices-Antioch-ad (1)
Furn-Clrnc-Outlet-06-26B web
Monica's dinner 05-26 CCH
Celia's-07-26
Delta-RC-B 07-26
Deer-Valley-Chiro-06-22

Copyright © 2026 · · Contra Costa Herald · All Rights Reserved