NEIGHBORHOOD PARADES are part of this year’s July 4 event (Orange County Tribune photo).

The extra-long Huntington Beach 4th of July weekend celebration will start on Thursday and conclude on Sunday, with a wide variety of star-spangled events and entertainments.

The “Surf City Dreaming” fun will start for the public on Thursday at 6 p.m. with a kickoff party on the patio at Coach’s Mediterranean Grill on Main Street with elected officials, civic leaders and sponsors in an informal meet-and-greet.

On Friday the revelry will begin in earnest with the opening of the Pier Plaza Festival at 10 a.m. The fest will run until 9 p.m. and feature entertainment, booths to browse, food trucks and a beer and wine garden.

Saturday will see a continuation of the festival (again, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.) and the announcement of home decorating contest winners as well as more entertainment.

Sunday will feature the Surf City 5k Run at Central Park beginning at 6:30 a.m. The car and vehicle parades in three locations – City Hall on Main Street, Edison Community Center on Magnolia Street and Murdy Park on Norma Drive – will run from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Pier Festival hours will be 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Among the featured vehicles will be a “military vehicle from the future” from “The Tomorrow War” sci-fi film opening this week, and an authentic recreation of a Viking ship created by students from Marina High School, whose mascot is Vikings.

Around 5:15 p.m. there will be a flyover and “aerial acrobatics” by the Condor Squadron. The climax of the evening will be a 26-minute fireworks extravaganza starting at around 9 p.m.

For more information on the celebration, go to: https://www.surfcityusa.com/events/signature-events/independence-day/