Even as the state reopens from the pandemic, some Bay Area communities are not hosting fourth of July events again this year.
But in other areas, fireworks shows and parades returned on Sunday.
In San Francisco, Karl the fog rolled into the area Sunday night, which made the fireworks show there more of a glow than a sparkle.
Many were excited to take in a live firework show - after being on lockdown for more than a year. It was also a little chilly because that's San Francisco in the summer along the waterfront.
The fireworks show itself was impressive as usual but somewhat obscured by the fog.
“It was fantastic. This is the first time we've seen the fireworks display in the US and it's been so good. It's a good experience,” said Preetha Vijayasaraswathi of Dublin.
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Because of the pandemic, San Francisco had to cancel the annual fireworks display last year.
Because of the fire concerns across California this year and new laws banning fireworks in much of the Bay Area, fire authorities have been pleading with people not to set them off at home and instead have been asking people to turn out for these professional displays.
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As people picked their spots at Maritime Park to watch, they didn't seem to have any issues being in a crowd again.
The only issue was the chill in the air But the crowd made the best of it.
The park near Ghirardelli Square was packed but it only took about 20 minutes for people to clear out of there.
Other notable firework shows in the Bay Area included Great America in Santa Clara, Gilroy High School, and one in Morgan Hill.
In Half Moon Bay, the Ol' Fashioned Fourth of July parade returned and it featured live entertainment from local bands, as well as food trucks offering local cuisine.
Earlier on Sunday, the annual Fourth of July parade returned in Orinda.
It was a familiar sound as the annual Fourth of July parade in Orinda kicked off before noon.
“The fact that we’re here and weren’t here last year makes this parade more special even though its tailored down a little bit,” said Jessica Vasisht of Orinda.
Fewer entries than a typical year but plenty of people came out. Families with dogs, kids and plenty of red, white and blue.
Concord resident Sean Duffy came with his family from concord and noted the difference a year makes.
“It’s a blessing it’s a miracle of science that the country produced vaccines thank you to all the scientist enables us to be with our family celebrate enjoy the Fourth,” he said.
The parade didn’t happen last year during the pandemic. This year the Orinda city council was divided on whether to hold it. But ultimately organizers scaled things back, and the city decided to move forward.
“We strongly recommended anyone not vaccinated to wear masks. We had people walking the parade route handing out masks. We’re not having the normal celebrity celebration in the park, where we normally had a lot of activities there and booths and so forth,” said Steve Harwood, the Orinda parade announcer.
The event was also livestreamed for people who were not able to attend the parade in person.
