“Fireworks over the Bridge” | Photo: Richard Hammond

Fourth of July in the Santa Clarita Valley is always a blast for members of the community and guests, as long as everyone has a heads-up about local traffic closures for the annual parade in Newhall and the free public fireworks extravaganzas after dark.

Here’s the latest roundup of July 4 fun and related traffic closures:

Independence Day Run
The festivities kick off with the Independence Day 5K and 10K, hosted by the Santa Clarita Runners’ Club. The race begins at Newhall Park and stretches along the 4th of July Parade route and offers something for runners of all levels. Race times are 7 a.m. for the 10K, 7:45 a.m. for the Kid 1K and 8 a.m. for the 5K race/walk. Runners must register for races at scrunners.org.

Pancake Breakfast
Runners looking to re-fuel and pancake lovers alike can enjoy the Santa Clarita Valley Rotary Club‘s annual Pancake Breakfast. The club will be serving its famous hot pancakes, sausages, Cowboy Coffee and juice, all for $4 a person.

Parade
After the race, enjoy the annual Santa Clarita Fourth of July Parade beginning at 9 a.m. at Hart Park in Old Town Newhall. This year’s parade is themed “Emblems of the Land I Love” and will feature horses, floats, music, classic cars, military presentations and more, as it travels down Main Street, Lyons Avenue and Orchard Village Road before finishing at 16th Street.

This year’s parade Grand Marshals will be brothers Andre and Renaud Veluzat and the Veluzat Family, owners of Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studios in Placerita Canyon and home to the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival for more than 20 years.

The parade lineup includes 96 entries this year. For the complete list, click here.

Road Closures for Run, Parade
Here’s the latest, most accurate roundup of traffic closures from the city of Santa Clarita for the morning’s aforementioned activities:

* Newhall Avenue, between Lyons Avenue and Railroad Avenue, will be closed after 5 a.m.

* Market Street, between Cross Street and Newhall Avenue, will be closed after 5 a.m.

* Main Street, between Newhall Avenue and Lyons Avenue, will be closed after 5 a.m.

* Westbound Lyons Avenue, between Railroad Avenue and Orchard Village Road, will be closed at 6 a.m.

* Eastbound Lyons Avenue, between Orchard Village Road and Railroad Avenue, will be reduced to a single lane at 6 a.m. and will be closed at 7:30 a.m.

* Orchard Village Road, between Lyons Avenue and Wiley Canyon Road, will be closed at 6 a.m.

* Dalbey Avenue, between Orchard Village Road and Newhall Avenue, will be closed at 6 a.m.

* 16th Street, between Orchard Village Road and Newhall Avenue, will be closed at 6 a.m.

* Avenida Ignacio, between Dalbey Avenue and 16th Street, will be closed at 6 a.m.

* Newhall Avenue, between 15th Street and 16th Street, will be closed at 6 a.m.

Railroad Avenue, Wiley Canyon Road (Via Princessa), and Newhall Avenue south of Railroad will remain open during these events. All roads will begin to open after the parade ends and all attendees and parade participants have been cleared.

Fireworks Shows
The day’s festivities conclude with the city of Santa Clarita Fourth of July Fireworks Show at Westfield Valencia Town Center, starting at 9:15 p.m.

Not only will the night’s sky display magnificent, luminous lights, the air will be filled with the sounds of KHTS AM 1220’s live soundtrack to complement the ambiance of the event.

As the fireworks show is one of the city’s most popular Fourth of July events, guests are encouraged to arrive early.

Los Angeles County will host its annual fireworks show at Dr. Richard Rioux Memorial Park, 24233 Faulker Drive in Stevenson Ranch, starting at 9 p.m.

A bit north along Interstate 5, Six Flags Magic Mountain adds to the SCV celebration with its massive show, at 26101 Magic Mountain Parkway starting at 9 p.m.

Santa Clarita Fireworks Street Closures
To accommodate Santa Clarita’s fireworks show, the following streets will be impacted:
* McBean Parkway will be reduced to one lane on the northbound approach to Valencia Boulevard, and southbound approach to Magic Mountain Parkway beginning at 5 p.m.

* McBean Parkway will be closed to both northbound and southbound traffic between Valencia Boulevard and Magic Mountain Parkway beginning at 6:45 p.m.

* Eastbound Valencia Boulevard and eastbound Magic Mountain Parkway will be reduced to one lane between Citrus Street and McBean Parkway beginning at 7:00 p.m.

* Westbound Valencia Boulevard and westbound Magic Mountain Parkway will be reduced to one lane between McBean Parkway and Citrus Street beginning at 7:30 p.m.