Alternative transportation
• Bus: C-Tran will run shuttles from the Vancouver mall every 15 minutes from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Use your transit pass or pay $2 in cash for the round trip when boarding. Buses will depart after the fireworks.
• Bike: The city of Vancouver, Bike Me! Vancouver and the Fort Vancouver National Trust have joined to provide a volunteer-staffed bicycle parking corral at the southwest corner of Evergreen Boulevard and Fort Vancouver Way starting at noon. Bring your own lock. The city is giving away free “blinky” lights for better visibility.
Basic information
• Tickets: $7 at the gate or online. Kids 12 and under are free.
• When: Gates open at 8 a.m. Stage shows begin at noon. Fireworks will begin at 10:05 p.m.
Alternative transportation
• Bus: C-Tran will run shuttles from the Vancouver mall every 15 minutes from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Use your transit pass or pay $2 in cash for the round trip when boarding. Buses will depart after the fireworks.
• Bike: The city of Vancouver, Bike Me! Vancouver and the Fort Vancouver National Trust have joined to provide a volunteer-staffed bicycle parking corral at the southwest corner of Evergreen Boulevard and Fort Vancouver Way starting at noon. Bring your own lock. The city is giving away free "blinky" lights for better visibility.
Basic information
• Tickets: $7 at the gate or online. Kids 12 and under are free.
• When: Gates open at 8 a.m. Stage shows begin at noon. Fireworks will begin at 10:05 p.m.
• Food and drink: You can bring your own food, as long as you don't bring a barbecue or alcohol (leave your pets and personal fireworks at home, too). Dozens of food vendors and a beer garden will be on-site. Bring cash, or ATMs are available.
• Where: Fort Vancouver National Site, 612 East Reserve St.
• For more information and to buy tickets: visit <b>www.fortvan.org</b>.
Parking
• Where: The Fire Cadets are operating a lot at Fifth and S streets for $10 per vehicle. The Academy, at 400 E. Evergreen Blvd., will have parking for RVs for $10 per vehicle from 8 a.m. until the lot is filled; enter on 12th and C streets. All metered spots in Vancouver will be free.
• Food and drink: You can bring your own food, as long as you don’t bring a barbecue or alcohol (leave your pets and personal fireworks at home, too). Dozens of food vendors and a beer garden will be on-site. Bring cash, or ATMs are available.
• Where: Fort Vancouver National Site, 612 East Reserve St.
• For more information and to buy tickets: visit www.fortvan.org.
Parking
• Where: The Fire Cadets are operating a lot at Fifth and S streets for $10 per vehicle. The Academy, at 400 E. Evergreen Blvd., will have parking for RVs for $10 per vehicle from 8 a.m. until the lot is filled; enter on 12th and C streets. All metered spots in Vancouver will be free.
Do the math: Officials at Fort Vancouver National Trust are hoping for a turnout of 60,000 at tonight’s fireworks show. If everyone drives, and every car has four people in it, that’s still 15,000 gas-guzzlers navigating street closures and jockeying for a parking spot.
The city of Vancouver and C-Tran have a suggestion: Bike or bus it.
Felida
The Felida Fourth of July Children’s Parade is at 11:15 a.m., featuring kids in wagons, in strollers and on bikes, all decked out for America. This year, organizers expect more than 4,000 kids to take part. The nonmotorized parade starts and ends at Felida Park, Northwest 122th Street west of Northwest 36th Avenue. Lineup begins at 10:45 a.m. on Northwest 122nd Street.
Vancouver Rodeo
At the Clark County Saddle Club, 10505 N.E. 117th Ave., Vancouver. Gates open at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $11-$26, and $7 for children, seniors and military members. Visit vancouverrodeo.com.
Washougal
A free fireworks display will start at 10 p.m. at Captain William Clark Park.
Yacolt
The free Fourth of July Rendezvous goes all day, with a parade at noon and fireworks at dusk. Visit townofyacolt.com; click on Community Events on the left side.
“There are many times when people simply choose to drive to an event, thinking they’ll get there quicker and get out of there quicker,” C-Tran spokesman Scott Patterson said. “Taking the bus really is the way to go.”
The $2 bus shuttles between Vancouver Mall and Independence Day at Fort Vancouver have carried as many as 7,000 folks in the past, he said — and the longest anyone waits to get out is 30 to 40 minutes.
They run every 15 minutes from the mall starting at 6 p.m.; more than a dozen will arrive after the fireworks to load everyone at once. The buses also get traffic priority upon exiting, Patterson said.
For those preferring to arrive on two wheels, the city of Vancouver and Bike Me! Vancouver are offering a new bike corral service right by the main gates, said Jennifer Campos, a senior planner in Community Development.
“If you’re coming from within a two- or three-mile radius, it’ll be a nice, easy ride in, and a nice ride out,” Campos said. “And you don’t have worry about a place to park your car.”
Felida
The Felida Fourth of July Children's Parade is at 11:15 a.m., featuring kids in wagons, in strollers and on bikes, all decked out for America. This year, organizers expect more than 4,000 kids to take part. The nonmotorized parade starts and ends at Felida Park, Northwest 122th Street west of Northwest 36th Avenue. Lineup begins at 10:45 a.m. on Northwest 122nd Street.
Vancouver Rodeo
At the Clark County Saddle Club, 10505 N.E. 117th Ave., Vancouver. Gates open at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $11-$26, and $7 for children, seniors and military members. Visit vancouverrodeo.com.
Washougal
A free fireworks display will start at 10 p.m. at Captain William Clark Park.
Yacolt
The free Fourth of July Rendezvous goes all day, with a parade at noon and fireworks at dusk. Visit townofyacolt.com; click on Community Events on the left side.
The corral holds 75 bikes, she said. Riders should bring their own locks, but volunteers will be posted from noon on to keep an eye on rides. The city will also hand out “blinky” lights so cyclists are more visible on their way home.
The corral has proven popular so far, Campos said.
“Last weekend for the Recycled Arts Festival, it was overflowing,” she said. “We’ll have to see this year. We’ve never done the Fourth before.”
Andrea Damewood: andrea.damewood@columbian.com.
