Carlsbad is preparing its annual Independence Day celebration, and we want this year to be bigger than ever. Of course, the celebration will include the fantastic fireworks display, which has been put on over the past few years by Precision Fireworks out of Era, Texas. We are told repeatedly by those visiting from out of town that it’s the best show they’ve seen anywhere.
This year, July 4 will be on a Tuesday. Many of our Independence Day celebrations will be held that day, but we’d also like to work with some of our partner organizations to set up other community activities throughout that weekend. We want to make it a four-day weekend that is special for our residents, their guests and any visiting tourists. Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Guadalupe Mountains National Park are both currently celebrating anniversaries, so we’d like to tie in our patriotic celebration with a love for our beautiful natural areas. We believe “America, the Beautiful” is a good theme for this year’s event.
The annual Independence Day parade will be held on the Fourth of July, in the morning. As we’ve done for the past two years, it will conclude with a ceremony to honor our veterans. This year, we’re going to be honoring the veterans of the Vietnam War, and the ceremony will take place inside of the Cavern Theatre. This will allow us to control the temperature a little better, but will also give us a chance to show off the theatre. Over the past two years, we’ve been honored to recognize our World War II and Korean War veterans.
We will also be scheduling concerts throughout the afternoon and evening. We have spoken with the extremely popular Grupo Veneno, a group whose members largely come from Carlsbad and the surrounding area, and we are making arrangements to have them perform for us. Veneno always draws a large crowd. We’re looking at a variety of music to try to provide something for everyone, and welcome your suggestions. We are also bringing back the boat parade this year and will be working on the details of that event.
As we discussed earlier, in addition to the music, we’re hoping to work with our partners around town to create four days of activities. This could also include pickleball tournaments, cleanup activities and food truck festivals. If you have any suggestions for this year’s Independence Day celebration in Carlsbad, please email us at mayor.office@cityofcarslbadnm.com.
Sincerely,
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway