Arcadians will kick off the Independence Day holiday weekend with the first annual Arcadia’s Best Patriotic Festival from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Saturday July 2.
The free daytime event in Downtown Arcadia sponsored by non-profit community events group Arcadia’s Best Foundation will feature the first community parade, 10 gourmet food trucks, a car show, street fair, photo contest for prettiest baby and senior, and performances by local groups.
Please let us know right away if your group or business would like to have an entry in the parade. Only a few vendor booths and slots and there is a limited number of spaces for the community car show, so get your application in before the deadline by clicking here atArcadiasBestFoundation.org website. Sponsorships and program advertising also still available for a brief time.
The parade at 10 a.m. on First Avenue, running north of Duarte Road to Bonita Street, and showcasing the spirit of Arcadia veterans, residents, groups, and local businesses, will include at least a dozen former Rose Parade Queens and Princesses who have represented Arcadia from the 1940s through the 2000s. Among the dozens of entries will be a team of Clydesdale horses, the Arcadia Mounted Enforcement Team, classic Model As, Corvettes, Shriners mini cars and motorcycle units, and an official police car, fire engine and ambulance from the 1920s – 1960s.
Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts and 30 members of the American Legion represent just a few of the groups marching in the parade. Other groups and businesses are invited to join.Jan’s Towing is offering a few flatbed tow trucks for free use by local groups.
Street Fair, Community Car Show, Performers, Food Trucks, Photo Contest
The performances, car show, and street fair will run from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. on First Avenue south of Huntington Drive to California Street near First Avenue Middle School.Anyone with a classic car is invited to register to drive in the parade and/or participate in the car show afterwards, where there are a limited number of spaces. Registration is required.
Among the street fair exhibitors will be a 50-foot Lions Club mobile eye exam vehicle and a 40-foot model of the Gold Line train station and tracks coming through Downtown Arcadia soon.Entertainers at the performance area at First and Bonita will include the Bobby Bluehouse band of the Arcadia Blues Club, 16 E. Huntington Dr., song-and-dance group Theaters of Vision Productions, and members of the Southern California Mormon Choir. Other dance, karate, gymnastics groups or others are encouraged to apply.
The photo contest sponsored by Downtown Arcadia’s Belle n’ Beau Photography, 201 S. First Ave., will offer $300 family portraits as grand prizes. Participants may book an appointment before June 15 for a free 5×7 entry photo at Belle n’ Beau.
Sponsors, City and Volunteer Supporters Founding sponsors include the Gold Line Metro Foothill Transportation Authority, Arcadia Masonic Lodge, Mickey Segal, Waste Management, Post Alarm Systems, Peter Amundson, Santa Anita Park, Matt Denny’s Ale House and Restaurant, Foothill Credit Union, The Book Rack/Image Foundry, The Arcadia Historical Society, and Richard Libby.
The Arcadia City Council, including Mayor Gary Kovacic, who has helped shepherd the event, unanimously approved the event under recent Mayor and original champion Peter Amundson, the latter of whom will be driving one of his classic vehicles in the parade. The Patriotic Festival is supported by the City of Arcadia and the Arcadia Police and Fire Departments. Mayor Pro Tem Bob Harbicht not only recommended event coordinator Bruce McCallum but will be driving along with his group of Santa Anita As. Councilman Mickey Segal was the original founding sponsor.
Other participating and supporting groups include the Arcadia Chinese Association, the Arcadia Education Foundation, Arcadia Republicans, Assistance League of Arcadia, the Arcadia Rotary Club, the Tzu Chi, and many others.Many of those groups and others, along with many individuals, have provided invaluable volunteer support.
For more information and to participate, visit http://ArcadiasBestFoundation.org, e-mail: info@ArcadiasBestFoundation.org, or call 626-538-5431.
This is the second event created by Arcadia’s Best Foundation following last fall’s One Community, One Book program featuring a program and discussion of the 50th anniversary of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Arcadia’s Best Foundation founding partners are Sho Tay, Carol Libby, and Scott Hettrick.