4th of July @ the Berkeley Marina July 4, 2010

The 4th of July is a great day to have a lot of fun. The biggest party is on the South Shore of the Berkeley Marina from noon-10PM. There's music, dancers, jugglers all for free! Adventure Playground, always a favorite, is open 11am-8pm. Get your face painted, try the giant slide, or splash in the water at the beach!

There's live entertainment from noon until 9:30PM on the main stage including Troupe Tangiers & Sharifa's Habibis, The Allman Step Brothers Band, Sadza Marimba, and Incendio plus entertainers in smaller venues around the marina. There's art & craft booths, massages, free sailboat rides from 1-4pm, dragon boat rides from 2-6pm (bring a set of dry clothes), and much more including the grand fireworks off the end of the Berkeley Pier at 9:30pm.

Let's hear it for the red, white, and blue...but keep it green, too. The party shouldn't leave the environment trashed. If you can, bring your own dishes -- Frisbees double as plates! A bandana is your cloth napkin to use at all of the international food booths. With water stations located around the event, you can refill your own reusable bottle and keep a lot of plastic out of the landfill. Be sure to use the recycling stations located throughout the marina for your disposables.

Ride your bike over the Berkeley Bicycle Overpass and park for free near Adventure Playground. Or take AC Transit from the Downtown Berkeley BART station. This only runs until 6:30PM, however and doesn't come back into the marina. To leave on AC Transit, walk out over the freeway overpass after the fireworks to University and 5th St. Plenty of car parking in free lots.

Free admission. Alcohol-free event. Free valet bicycle parking. No cars after 7pm.

Official Website: http://www.anotherbullwinkelshow.com/4th-of-july/4th-of-july.html