We can think of no better way to do so than by celebrating Independence Day in style this year. The City of Carlsbad and its partners are proud to host: “An Old Fashioned, Patriotic, Fourth of July Celebration” this July 3rd and 4th. We cordially invite you to join us.

We are firing up the festivities on Saturday morning with a parade through town hosted by Carlsbad MainStreet. We cannot wait to see all the creative floats which celebrate our freedom. Following the parade at 10:30 a.m., we have a special ceremony planned on the Eddy County courthouse lawn in honor of our World War II Veterans. Please notify us if you are aware of any WWII veterans in the area that we can include.

Next is a Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Carlsbad Museum. We are looking forward to formally inducting Shakespeare expert John Andrews into the hall of fame this summer and have invited several other of our honorees. We understand that several groups are planning reunions in Carlsbad this summer and hope they will join us at this induction.

Later on Saturday, there will be music. We are going to move our celebration over to the Beach Bandshell along the Pecos River and begin with local DJs followed by mariachi music. Bill Brooks and Shiloh Road will be performing on Saturday, as will the award-winning band, Stranded. An interesting fact about Bill Brooks: he was the very first person to perform at the Carlsbad bandshell. Over a span of six consecutive years, Bill was voted Entertainer of the Year in Texas by the Country Music Revue Association.

Why stop with one parade when you can have two? We decided to kick off Sunday’s celebration with a boat parade up and down beautiful Lake Carlsbad organized by the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce.

We have an incredible list of talent slated for Sunday afternoon and evening, and we are excited about performances from JD and the Badlands, Groupo Veneno, and the Southwest Surfers, who are a Beach Boys tribute band. There is still a lot in development, and we expect to have more announcements over the next few weeks. Special thanks to Committee Chair Danny Fletcher, Pearl of the Pecos Director Kat Davis, and our wonderful sponsors, R360 and AR Foreman (the event’s title sponsors), and committee members.

Of course, Carlsbad’s Independence Day would not be complete without our world-class fireworks show, which we will set off on the evening of July Fourth. It will be a weekend to remember.

If you stop by Carlsbad on Independence Day, we also hope you will pay a visit to our beautiful Carlsbad Veterans Memorial Park located off James Street in East Carlsbad. The park includes memorials to the Vietnam War, the Bataan Death March, the Korean War, and much more. We are especially proud of the M42 “Duster,” the Norden Bombsight Vault, and the anti-aircraft gun, which serve as centerpieces.

This past year, we added a new centerpiece to the park – a Vietnam-era Huey Helicopter. In the middle of the COVID-19 shutdown, members of our community came together to select and purchase the Huey. They then moved it across the country for installation. You cannot miss it if you visit our Veterans Memorial Park – it hovers over the entire area and is a lasting tribute to everything our veterans have done for us to protect our freedom. Carlsbad is a very patriotic community, and we are looking forward to many more opportunities to celebrate this great nation.

Mayor Dale Janway
City of Carlsbad