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Saturday to be full of July 4 events

Staff report

The Santa Ynez Valley plans a full day of festivities in Solvang for the Fourth of July, beginning with a parade — and traffic detour — on Mission Drive in the morning and concluding with fireworks at 9 p.m.

Beginning at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Mission Drive traffic will be detoured north to Laurel Avenue between Fifth and Pine streets to get ready for the parade, which starts at 11 a.m. from Old Mission Santa Ines, goes west down Mission Drive to Fourth Street and returns to the mission via Copenhagen Drive, Alisal Road and Molle Way.

A barbecue in Solvang Park follows the parade at noon, and many nonprofit groups’ fundraising booths on the grounds of the mission will open at 1 p.m., providing food and entertainment until the fireworks begin at 9 p.m.

Across the street at the Veterans Memorial Building, the Santa Ynez Valley Master Chorale and a bluegrass band will provide a free concert of patriotic and American music at 2 p.m.

The schedule looks like this:

— 9:30 a.m.: Mission Drive (Highway 246) closes. Detour will be Laurel Avenue between Fifth and Pine streets, north of Mission.

— 11 a.m.: Independence Day parade down Mission Drive and back on Copenhagen to Old Mission Santa Ines

— Noon: Community barbecue: Hot dogs, hamburgers for sale in Solvang Park

— 1 p.m.: Festival opens at Old Mission Santa Ines

— 1 p.m.: Mission Drive re-opens

— 2 p.m.: Free concert of American and patriotic music by Santa Ynez Valley Master Chorale and bluegrass band at Veterans Memorial Hall

— 9 p.m.: Fireworks show at mission

Government offices and many businesses, including the Santa Ynez Valley News office, will be closed Friday, July 3, because the holiday falls on a Saturday.

July 3, 2009