Celebration starts July 3 with the Patriotic Sing located at the downtown amphitheater followed by the Family Music Festival

By Matthew Stein

Matthew Stein

For 146 consecutive years Morgan Hill has been hosting a July 4 celebration to honor our country and our community.

Last year was certainly an odd year, yet with the help of the entire community we were able to broadcast a live virtual event with more than 300 participants (bands, equestrians, floats and performers). More than 20,000 people watched our celebration, which is still available on Facebook and YouTube and included a number of surprise guests as well as amazing performances by local residents. We hope you had a chance to watch and enjoy a different type of July 4 celebration where we were able to present a different perspective which celebrated our history and our future.

Morgan Hill Life file photos
A group rides in a float during the 2019 parade.

This year we are excited to return to an in-person celebration where the theme is “Honoring our Heroes.” We are celebrating those in our community who helped us all make it through a very tough year: clinical teams, grocery store workers, teachers, farmers, and all the everyday people who stepped up. We are going to celebrate not only the birth of our country but the people of our community which in ways both large and small truly embody the spirit of the United States.

Our celebration starts July 3 with the Patriotic Sing located at the downtown amphitheater followed by the Family Music Festival that lights-up downtown Morgan Hill all along Monterey Road.

Morgan Hill Life file photos
Spectators enjoy the firework show.

We kick-off July 4 with the 5k/1-mile Freedom Run followed by the Classic Car Cruise and award-winning Parade. Following the Parade, we will return to downtown Morgan Hill for food and drinks at local restaurants and the car show and awards ceremony for both the parade and car show. We conclude our celebration with the evening festival at the Outdoor Sports Complex with food, live music and, of course, fireworks.

There are a few changes that will be taking place due to the health requirements as well as changes in downtown Morgan Hill. We encourage everyone to follow us on Facebook for updates (Morgan Hill Freedom Fest) or our re-designed website is also available with updates (www.MorganHillFreedomFest.com). You will find information regarding street closures and other logistics on the website as well as the Facebook page, plus fun milestones that we share.

As in all years, this event is supported by our local businesses and community members. Many struggled in 2020 and we appreciate all the help by our longstanding and hopefully our new businesses as well as all our residents. To sponsor or donate to the event please go to our website, which includes easy links. For folks who want to mail us we are Independence Day Celebration, P.O. Box 1776, Morgan Hill, CA 95038. Every little bit helps to put on this event that is free to our entire community. We are quite a bit behind our fundraising goals, so please consider donating if you’re able. All donations of more than $100 will get a commemorative 2021 Freedom Fest pin designed by our very own Maureen Hunt.

This event is put on by our community for our community. We need more than 500 volunteers to put on the events each year. We welcome new volunteers either in the planning stage or at the event itself, please go to MorganHillFreedomFest.com/Volunteer and let us know you are interested in helping. If you have any questions, please to let us know at [email protected].

We are so excited to have you all join us as we light up the streets, the sky, and our spirit to celebrate the birth of this amazing country and the undefeatable spirit that has made this country a beacon of freedom.

Matthew Stein is the president of the Morgan Hill Freedom Fest nonprofit.