What to expect at this year’s Fourth of July celebration

It’s almost time for Blaine’s annual Old Fashioned Fourth of July celebration. The Fourth of July festivities are expected to once again attract thousands of people, and here’s what’s on deck.

The Blaine Senior Center will be hosting a pancake breakfast from 8 to 11 a.m. The meal price is $6 for adults and $4 for children under six. The menu will include pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausages, orange juice and coffee.

After breakfast, festival-goers can visit the Show N Shine Car Show, which features over 200 classic vehicles; the show goes from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. downtown.

The Blaine Library Book Sale will have plenty of books on offer for those who want some good reads for the summer, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Arts and Crafts Street Fair will feature local artists and artisans selling their work from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. downtown.

The old-fashioned parade will start at noon along Peace Portal Drive. Parade staging is based on a first-come, first-served basis. Pre-registration isn’t required to participate, but organizers recommend filling out the registration form ahead of time and bringing it to the line-up. Forms are available at blainechamber.com. Registration starts at 9 a.m. and parade judging is at 11 a.m. Most entries are free, but there is a fee of $25 for political entries and a $10 fee for businesses which are not members of the Blaine Chamber of Commerce.

The parade’s grand marshals will be the doctors and staff of Bay Medical Clinic, which has been an integral part of the local community for many years.

After the parade, attendees can enjoy a drink in the beer garden, which will be open from 1 to 5 p.m. It will be located in a roped off area at the Pizza Factory parking lot.

Plover ferry rides will also be available from Blaine Harbor from noon to 8 p.m.

Live music will sound throughout the day. Artists performing include the Springman Family Band, 133d Army National Guard Band, Silver City Band and GenRAShun.

For dinner, the Semiahmoo Resort is holding a seaside barbecue from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Admission to the barbecue is first-come, first-served. Unlike previous years, when guests paid a set price for an all-you-can-eat menu, this year the menu will be a la carte. Options include hot dogs, Kobe burgers, garden burgers, barbequed chicken, a half rack of pork ribs, seafood stew and corn on the cob, as well as cookies, brownies and all-you-can-eat watermelon for dessert. There will be lawn games, live music and face painting for kids.

To cap it all off, a fireworks show begins at 10:15 p.m. at Blaine Marine Park.

Many downtown streets will be closed during the day, so attendees are asked to plan accordingly.

Can I light off fireworks?

Fireworks laws in Blaine are currently in effect after Blaine City Council passed two ordinances restricting the use of consumer fireworks in 2016.

Consumer fireworks are completely banned for all of Blaine west of Shintaffer Road, which includes Semiahmoo Spit. They are also banned on all publicly owned lands, including city parks, around the harbor and school grounds.

On the east side of Blaine, it’s legal to shoot off fireworks from 10 a.m. to midnight on July 4.

Fireworks are allowed in Birch Bay, but are not permitted in Birch Bay State Park. The Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce asks those who choose to light fireworks to clean any resulting debris to reduce the impact on the community and animals living in the area. Anyone who lights fireworks at the bay is asked to bring garbage bags and a flashlight to clean up after dark and take trash with them.

Consumers are encouraged to keep fireworks stored away from children and to use care when selecting the area where fireworks will be discharged. Having water and leaving pets inside, only allowing adults to light fireworks and cleaning up fireworks debris are ways to be safe when lighting fireworks.