A beloved Fourth of July parade for America’s 250th anniversary has been canceled after more than three decades after crippling red tape.
The event in the Westchester neighborhood of Bakersfield was shelved last week due to the town and cops enforcing city permits and safety rules.
Organizers said the regulations, which included waste management, road closures and an expensive special application fee, made it too costly to continue.
It comes as Fourth of July appears to be under attack in California, with Long Beach’s popular display banning fireworks and SeaWorld being forced to switch the drones in San Diego.
Westchester parade chief Robin Paggi told Bakersfield’s News 17: “When we’re looking at all the requirements — there’s quite a bit — and there’s also costs that go along with it.
“So when we examined all of the requirements and the cost and put it out to our neighborhood, and said this is what it would take to continue our parade as-is, there wasn’t much of a response and so it just made sense that it’s time for the parade as we know it to be done.”
She continued: “I was contacted by the police department. They let me know when we have an event this size that there needs to be a permit and there needs to be safety precautions put in place, understandably so. People are in the street.”
The festival has been in place for 37 years and usually features fireworks, marching bands, fire trucks and decorated bikes and wagons across six blocks.
Organizers said the free, all-volunteer parade would need $5,000 or more to meet new requirements, including detailed plans for traffic, safety, trash, and emergency services.
Long Beach canceled its “Big Bang on the Bay” for the first time in 15 years after the California Coastal Commission denied approval for pyrotechnics.
The July 3 event, which typically draws large crowds to Alamitos Bay, now faces pressure to switch to drones instead of fireworks.
Last year, the commission granted the city a five-year permit on the condition that it transition to a drone show starting in 2026.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office weighed in Friday, saying the “vendor AGREED last year that the show would move from a fireworks show to a drone show.”
Nonetheless, the governor is “looking into the matter,” the post continued. Event organizer John Morris challenged the decision during a commission meeting Wednesday but was unsuccessful.
“I believe I’m in the right, so I’m always going to fight,” Morris told The Long Beach Post. He previously noted the switch to drones was unlikely, leaving the show’s cancellation imminent.
The city of San Diego has set a precedent as one of the first to scale back fireworks displays.
It’s popular show at SeaWorld announced it was switching to drones all while the city cutting fireworks in its display by 15% last year.
