Marysville celebrates Fourth of July

Michaela Harris, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
·2 min read

Jul. 5—Families gathered at Beckwourth Riverfront Park on Monday evening to celebrate the Fourth of July with a fireworks show. This marks the fourth consecutive July 4 fireworks display backed by Marysville and Yuba City.

Visitors were encouraged to bring barbecues and coolers or support local food trucks stationed at the park for the event. Many people brought tents, food and drinks, but were prohibited from bringing their own fireworks. Food trucks like The Box were also stationed to serve hot dogs, street tacos, popcorn and specialty beverages like boba tea.

The park gates opened at 4:30 p.m. but the fireworks show was not scheduled to start until around 9:30 p.m. Areas surrounding the park between 5th and 10th street were closed off for controlled burns last week in preparation for the fireworks, the Appeal previously reported.

Representatives with Sapphire Marketing Group were contracted by the Yuba City City Council to organize the event. Marysville City Councilmember Brad Hudson and Yuba City Councilmember Marc Boomgaarden have volunteered to organize the Fourth of July celebrations since 2018, but chose to hire separate organizers this year, said Judy Brogden, junior partner with Sapphire Marketing Group.

The public relations group has previously organized the Marysville Peach Festival, but this is the first time that the group has been involved with a Fourth of July celebration.

"It's been great working for the municipality and getting everything organized," Brogden said.

Fireworks for the display were provided by Pyro Spectaculars. Over 1,000 fireworks were shot 500 feet in the air, making the display visible on both sides of the Yuba River. Some portions of the area's parking lot were blocked in order to save enough space for the display and minimize the fire risk, Brogden said.

Organizers spent nearly $28,000 on the 25 minute display. Employees of companies who sponsored the event like Yuba Water Agency, Pape Machinery, Lakeview Petroleum and Recycling Industries were given access to a VIP parking lot and seating section to view the fireworks display.

Sapphire Marketing Group has also been contracted to set up next year's Fourth of July event where more vendors and activities will be available, Brogden said.

The event was free and open to the public. Organizers for next year's event plan to keep it free and available for all members of the community.