Firework show moving to Outdoor Sports Center
Published on Page 1 of the July 26, 2013 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Marty Cheek
With the coming of dusk this July 4, Morgan Hill’s Independence Day celebration will end with a bang at the Outdoor Sports Center. This year marks the first time the Condit Road sports field venue will host more than 20,000 residents and visitors gathering on the grass and bleachers to prepare for the night sky to light up in colorful explosions. The Usual Suspects will entertain the crowds with music until the sky darkens enough for the fireworks, marking the grand finale of our community’s Freedom Fest celebration of America’s independence.
“The fireworks show this year will be much bigger than in the past because we have a larger area to shoot fireworks, ” said Charles Weston, president of Independence Day Celebrations, the nonprofit group that organizes all Freedom Fest events in Morgan Hill.
Since its days as a small farm village in the 1880s, people of Morgan Hill have loved showing off their patriotic spirit. The tradition continues in the twenty-first century as our community shares its small-town pride with the entire Santa Clara Valley by celebrating American independence every Fourth of July with a series of family-friendly Freedom Fest events. Run entirely by a team of volunteers, IDC’s stated mission is “to reinforce and sustain the principles and traditions of American freedom in our community through the Independence Day events now called the Morgan Hill Freedom Fest.”
Morgan Hill’s Freedom Fest is a perfect example of the strength of our city’s community spirit, said Jeff Dixon, vice president of IDC. “We have an all volunteer organization that’s been in existence for nearly 20 years that puts on Freedom Fest,” he said. “People work year round, spending thousands of hours as a group to celebrate the Fourth of July and the American way of life.”
The fun starts Saturday June 29 with the 4th annual Freedom Fest Bike Classic ride through South Valley. A fundraiser for the Freedom Fest events in Morgan Hill, the Bike Classic has various levels of courses, the easiest of which is a six-mile loop along the Coyote Creek County Parkway trail that is perfect for families with small children. There are also more challenging 13-mile and 30-mile bike tours on the Coyote Creek Trail.
For hardcore cyclists, the Bike Classic offers a 100-kilometer ride passing through the rural roads of southern Santa Clara Valley. This ride rolls through oak-covered foothills and redwood mountain valleys. Cyclists pass near several scenic South Valley wineries and parks. Rest stops come every 15 miles so cyclists can refresh for the next segment of the ride.
On Wednesday July 3, the Morgan Hill community comes together for the 25th annual Patriotic Sing at 6 p.m. in the gym at Britton Middle School. The origins of this tradition began at the turn of the last century when children sang songs of American liberty on Independence Day eve. The tradition waned for many decades until it was revived in 1988 by resident Karen Ann Crane. The Patriotic Sing pays tribute to veterans and men and women in the Armed Forces.
The Freedom Fest music fun continues immediately after the Patriotic Sing at 7:15 p.m. at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center’s plaza and amphitheater. Popular local band The Dadz will play classic rock-and-roll at the 2nd annual Family Music Fest. Gourmet food, beer and wine and soda will be available for purchase during the night.
Thursday July 4, downtown Morgan Hill becomes the center of a big American birthday bash for South Valley. It starts with the 1-mile run for children at 7:45 a.m., followed by a 5-kilometer walk at 8 a.m., and the popular 5- kilometer Freedom Run at 8:15 a.m. Registration is set up in front of P.A. Walsh Elementary School. This year, IDC is giving cash prizes for the 5-kilometer Freedom Run winners — $100 for first place, $50 for second, and $25 for third.
At 9:30 a.m., classic car owners will roll their vehicles through city streets with the 6th annual Liberty Car Cruise. The cars will travel the route the parade follows. The parade officially kicks off at 10 a.m. and lasts for about two hours. This year’s Morgan Hill Independence Day parade’s theme is “Sing the Songs of America.”
Historic records show that Morgan Hill has had a Fourth of July parade since at least 1894. It is the official Santa Clara County Independence Day parade, bringing in at least 50,000 people who line the parade route to watch more than 2,500 participants in parade units such as marching bands, floats, performing groups and other entries.
Weston believes all the Freedom Fest events held in Morgan Hill — from the Bike Classic to the OSC fireworks show — make our community a special place each year during the Independence Day celebration. He volunteers his time to keep the traditions going for families in the region.
“I wanted to give back to this organization for all the wonderful memories I had with my children as we sat on the curb and watched the parade and as we bundled the kids up and put them in the red wagon and took off for the fireworks,” he said. “Those are precious moments for me.”
