By Sara Beth Williams–
The annual Stars and Stripes Independence Day celebration is returning for another year to Van Maren Park on Saturday, June 27.
The celebration will begin at 6 p.m. at Van Maren Park and will run until 10 p.m., with fireworks beginning at dusk. The event will feature live music, a variety of food trucks, and a Kids Zone with hands-on activities for kids, hosted by Sunrise Recreation and Park District and Citrus Heights Police Activities League.
This year, the celebration will feature live music from Big Crush.
Limited ADA parking is available at City Hall and designated parking lots, with shuttling golf cart services to and from the event site, the city’s website said. Event staff will be monitoring the entrance of the City Hall parking to ensure disabled person parking placards are visible.
Parking has typically been available at the Citrus Heights Police Department off Fountain Square Drive and at the Citrus Heights Community Center and Dignity Health, both located at the corner of Greenback Lane and Fountain Square Drive.
Residents can also access the park on foot via walking paths through the Stock Ranch Nature Preserve located behind Walmart and Costco.
Attendees are encouraged to ride their bikes or carpool to the event for traffic reduction and parking convenience.
An estimated 7,000 attendees have filled the park in each of the last two years, according to city officials, which is nearly double the estimated attendance in 2023.
Van Maren Park is located at 6601 Thalia Way.
