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This Fourth of July, Pleasanton residents will have the chance to enjoy a free concert and picnic at the newly renovated Lions Wayside Park, which was set to open back up to the public one week earlier.
The event, hosted by the Make A Difference for Pleasanton nonprofit, will be the first one scheduled at the renovated downtown park after the City Council approved the improvement project back in September 2024.
“Since 1999, volunteers have put together ‘Celebrating Freedom and its Evolution since the Revolution’ for our community,” W. Ron Sutton, founder of the nonprofit, said in a press release.
“On this 249th year since the first Independence Day, we celebrate our shared heritage with an old-fashioned Fourth,” Sutton added. “Even if we disagree July 5 on current politics, we will do so with our expected behaviors of Respect, Responsibility, Compassion, Honesty, and Integrity. We celebrate living in a Community of Character!”
In a separate press release from the city, the grand reopening of Lions Wayside and Delucchi parks is slated for this Friday (June 27) at 1:30 p.m.
One week later, the Fourth of July celebration will come to the reborn Lions Wayside, a free event that will feature music from the Pleasanton Community Concert Band, which is also commemorating its 50th anniversary. The group will be playing music that they have performed over the last half century.
One of the group’s original conductors, Bob Williams, will return to the podium to help lead the band.
Food will also be sold at the event. According to the nonprofit, there will be 600 hot dog lunches available for purchase — each lunch will cost $5 — and there will also be vegetarian options available. Free hand-held American flags will also be distributed to the first 300 adults to arrive.
In addition to the lunches, Meadowlark Dairy will also be providing a limited amount of ice cream tokens to children in the audience.
Community members who are planning on attending the event are being advised to bring their own chairs or blankets to sit on and are encouraged to wear red, white and blue to the event. There will also be 50 folding chairs beneath a shaded canopy available for residents courtesy of the Pleasanton Community Concert Band, according to the nonprofit.
During the event, several Pleasanton residents will also be recognized for being named the 2024 and 2025 Ed Kinney Community Patriots. Established in 2005, the award honors the memory of Kinney, a past Pleasanton mayor who also served as the first master of ceremonies for the annual Fourth of July event.
Also unique to this year’s event will be the reading of an original poem by Pleasanton’s former teen poet laureate, Ishmeet Dhillon. In addition, Sutton will be offering a discourse on 1789 — the year the U.S. constitution took effect — and Pleasanton resident Doug Miller will provide a eulogy for the late Chris Miller, a fellow military veteran and former Ed Kinney Community Patriot whose birthday was on Independence Day.
According to the press release, the event will take place at the park from noon to 1:30 p.m. next Friday (July 4). It will mark the first Fourth of July celebration for the nonprofit since 2023, as last year’s event was canceled due to a heat wave.
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