Celebrate the Red, White and Blue at Tempe’s 4th of July Festival
June 11, 2009 · Published By Admin
Tempe will once again celebrate Independence Day in grand fashion this year by hosting the largest fireworks display in Arizona.
The 58th annual CBS 5 July 4th Tempe Town Lake Festival, produced by the Kiwanis Club of Tempe, will take place on Saturday, July 4, at Tempe Beach Park. Gates open at 4 p.m. All ages can celebrate the holiday with live local entertainment, a splash zone, kids activities and games, rock climbing walls and face painters. The 58th annual fireworks spectacular, presented by ProTix, begins at dusk. Net proceeds will benefit the Kiwanis Club of Tempe.
ATTRACTIONS
Pure Fitness Hot Summer Nights Stage: A variety of bands will take the stage beginning at 4 p.m. Performances will be shown on video screens provided by University of Phoenix.
Fantastic Family Fest: Free inflatable village for all ages with a variety of rides, rock climbing wall and more.
azcentral.com Splash Playground: Cool off with water fun and games for all ages.
Assorted Food Courts: Foods for every palate, including Macayo’s, brats, hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, ice cream, snow cones, smoothies, fry bread, Pepsi products, Budweiser beer gardens and more.
SKYE VIP Garden: Ticket to exclusive area includes a seat in a misted area, SKYE Restaurant dinner, two drink tickets and a great view of the fireworks show. Limited tickets available for $60 each, plus applicable service charge. $30 for children 5-12 years old. Children 5 and under are free, meal not included.
ProTix Fireworks Spectacular: A 40-minute fireworks show launched from the Mill Avenue bridge and choreographed to patriotic and classical music.
TICKETS – Children 12 and younger and current military with military ID card receive free admission. Tickets can now be purchased at the following locations:
City of Tempe offices: Advance general admission tickets are available for $5 until July 3. Please visit www.tempe4th.com for locations.
Fry’s and Fry’s Marketplace stores: Advance general admission tickets are available for $6 at all Valley Fry’s stores. Visit www.tempe4th.com for Fry’s store locations.
www.ProTixonline.com or 1-866-9ProTix: Advance general admission tickets are $6 each, plus applicable service charge. SKYE VIP Garden tickets are also available.
Day-of at Gate: Adult tickets are $8 each, or two for $15. Tickets will be sold at the gate until park reaches capacity. Pre-sale tickets will be honored all night.
TRANSPORTATION
Bus
Ride the bus for free in Tempe on July 4. Most Tempe bus routes will operate every 15 minutes to the Mill Avenue District until 8 p.m., with return service extended until 2 a.m. Many downtown Tempe bus and Orbit routes will drop off and pick up at the Tempe Transportation Center on the northeast corner of Fifth Street and Forest Avenue.
Due to street restrictions, several downtown Tempe routes will be detoured to connect with light rail and will not serve their normal stops. If you choose to take the bus and transfer to light rail, you will be required to pay a fare. Parking is available at the following park-and-ride locations:
Tempe Marketplace – Orbit Earth to downtown; Route 81 (McClintock) to Apache and McClintock light rail station
Tempe Sports Complex – Route 62 (Hardy) to downtown
Tempe Library Complex – Orbit Jupiter to downtown
Arizona Mills Mall – Route 56 (Priest) to Priest and Washington light rail station; Route 92 (Guadalupe/48th Street) to downtown
METRO Light Rail
Park at one of the designated METRO light rail park-and-ride locations and ride the train for $1.75 per trip, per person. You may want to purchase an all-day pass for $3.50 at the start of your trip to avoid having to use busy fare vending machines in the downtown area at the end of the event. (Reduced all day passes are available for $1.75 for youth, people age 65 and older and people with disabilities.) METRO light rail will operate under extended hours, running every 15 minutes until 2 a.m. Park-and-ride locations include:
Apache Boulevard and Price Road
Apache Boulevard and McClintock Drive
Apache Boulevard and Dorsey Lane
PARKING – Because of high attendance, plan to arrive early and leave late for the best parking. Event patrons are encouraged to consider these parking suggestions:
ADA parking is available at the US Airways Garage.
Patrons traveling from the west should park at the lot located at Rio Salado Parkway and Hardy Drive.
Patrons traveling from the east should park at the ASU lots near Rural Road and Rio Salado Parkway or the SunCor building on Rio Salado Parkway and Mill Avenue.
There are several thousand parking spaces in the Mill Avenue District. Visit www.tempe.gov/parking for locations.
Avoid parking on the north bank. The Mill Avenue bridges will be closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Patrons who park on the north bank of the lake will NOT be able to walk across the Mill Avenue bridges to attend the event.
For street closures and traffic updates, visit www.tempe.gov/streetclosures.
Expect some delays after the event. Your patience is appreciated.
Visit www.tempe4th.com for more information.
[...] CBS 5 July 4th Tempe Town Lake Festival, produced by the Kiwanis Club of Tempe, is at Tempe Beach Park, Mill Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway. [...]