Richmond’s 4th of July 2012 Celebrations & Parades + Free Admission at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

We’ll post RVA on the Cheap’s list o’ 4th of July fireworks events tomorrow; here are a few of metro-Richmond’s fireworks-free 4th of July celebrations & parades:

• Parham Road Independence Day Parade & Festival. The parade begins at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 30, from the parking lot of Trinity Lutheran Church (Parham & Lansdowne) and ends at the parking lot of Parham Road Baptist Church, 2101 N. Parham Road. There’s free parking in the Park N Ride lot at the corner of Fordson Road & Parham Road. The parade will be followed by a family-friendly festival & outdoor games on the fields from 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. and an indoor concert by the Henrico County Concert Band at 3:00 p.m.
• All-American Celebration at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. Free admission to the botanical garden? Yes, please. On Wednesday, July 4, you’ll get in free all day, and there are extras, too. Happy Lucky Combo will perform live music in the Children’s Garden from 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m., and you can use the Garden’s supplies to decorate your wagons and strollers for the parade, which steps off at 2:00 p.m. Bonus deal: If you purchase a membership that day, you’ll get an extra month free. Don’t forget the swimsuits; my kids love the water play area.
• An Old-Fashioned Fourth of July Celebration will take place from 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 4, at Meadow Farm Museum at Crump Park. The free festivities include live music, tethered hot-air balloon rides, arts and crafts, face painting, a petting zoo for children, contests and games, and pony rides. Plus, there’s a watermelon feast, Uncle Sam on stilts, Jonathan Austin the juggler, a patriotic performance featuring a historic color guard, drum and fife music, and a period musket salute by Living History Associates. Tours of Meadow Farm Museum and the Orientation Center exhibits will be available free of charge.
• A Fourth of July Celebration & Parade will take place in Ashland. The nonmotorized parade, featuring bicycles, basset hounds, a lawn chair brigade, & more, steps off at 11:00 a.m. and follows Hanover Avenue toward the Center, located at 500 S. Center St., Ashland. After the parade, stick around for a patriotic concert, children’s games, an Apple Pie Contest, a Patriotic Pets costume contest, & more.

–Jennifer Maciejewski

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