July 4th... More than just explosions

JULY 3

Ready to whet your fireworks appetite a day early? Catch a Sidewinders game June 3 at Tucson Electric Park, 2500 E. Ajo. The home-favorites will take on the Iowa Cubs. a 15-minute fireworks "spectacular" will follow the game. Tickets are $3 to $8, and it costs $2 to park. Grassy knolls outside the park are free.

JULY 4

Those willing to pack their families into the wagon and travel 17 miles west from campus can catch Marana's Family Fun Day. The festivities kick-off at 4:30 p.m. on the Fourth with music by "Rancho Deluxe." Skydiving clowns, face painting, pie-eating are only some of the attractions. The night includes a fireworks show, followed by free watermelon. Admission is $7.00 per carload, but don't put the kids in the trunk.

Honor KVOA Channel 4's retiring weatherman, Michael Goodrich, and gnaw on a foot-long hot dog at Hi-Corbett field, 3400 E. Camino Campestre. The seasoned weatherman will toss out the first pitch at the USA National Team's game against the Japanese National Team. Goodrich will throw the first pitch at 6:05 p.m.. The price is 3$ and fireworks will follow the game.

Hankering for the olden days? Tucson Convention Center's "Old Fashioned 4th of July Celebration" will kick-off at noon, and won't cost a penny. There are watermelon, pie, and pizza eating contests, a laser maze and jumping castle. At 9 p.m., festive folks will have a clear view of the "Fire in the Sky," the "A" mountain fireworks display. The TCC is located at 260 S. Church Ave.

Downtown Saturday Night will take on a special flair for the Fourth with an "All American Music Celebration." Three bands will play classic rock cover tunes with their own twists downtown between 7 and 10 p.m.. "The Nite Flys" will play anything form Pat Metheny to Steely Dan at the Ronstadt Transit Center. The "Mardi Garcia Band" will tribute the greats at Arizona Alley, south of Congress. And a funkier sound from "Stuck in the Groove" will perk up ears at the 5th Street Stage behind Magpies, Fourth Avenue and Fifth Street.

For fatalists, the Screening Room will show "It Came From Outer Space" in 3D for Independence Day. Admission is your own pair of 3D glasses. Showing times are 6, 8 and 10 p.m. at 127 E. Congress St.

Close to home, Fourth Avenue will feature its own afternoon and evening celebration and family event on Seventh Street between Fourth and Fifth Avenue. Festivities start at five, so get there early to snag a seat on the bleachers for the "A" Mountain fireworks show. The cost is a $1 or $2 donation.