Celebrate America

Worth the parking, worth the walk and worth taking your time to be present, to be part of cerebrating one of the most beautiful and most important places on Earth !!

I don't normally write reviews but this needs to be shared. Also I should mention I have been going to this event for a number of prior years were it always had a great vibe about it. This year however it changed: While the fireworks were still just as good, although it's no longer anything special because you can easily find equivalent or larger shows done by the same pyrotechnics company anywhere with the Sacramento region, most of CA for that matter. Just about every local small to medium sized city has a similar one this time of year.The hate/political rant from the pastor of the events sponsor, Destiny Christian was extremely disconcerting. The guy used the stage to effectively preach a number of your typical far right topics to the crowd. This made it feel more more like a political rally than a celebration of our nations history. Judging by the reaction I wasn't the only one who felt this way as many people immediately got up and left before the fireworks show began. If this the future of this event then its really sad as this used to a very welcoming all inclusive wholesome family style community event. No mater your views politics should have no place here.

Celebrate America is an annual free event produced by Destiny Christian Church in Rocklin and held at Twin Oaks Park. It is a family friendly patriotic show with live musical entertainment, food trucks, and a spectacular fireworks finale. It can get very hot if you are there prior to sunset so be sure to bring plenty of cold water (alcoholic beverages are not allowed). Most folks bring lawn chairs or blankets and stake out a spot in front of the main stage as early as possible. Even if you arrive late, however, there will still be plenty of room towards the back to view the show and fireworks. The entertainment is decidedly patriotic, Christian centric and family friendly. The crowd is usually pretty chill and so it makes for a fun and relaxing evening out (once you've found parking that is). Many folks bring large umbrellas for shade but once the main show begins everyone is asked to take them down so that the view is not obstructed. Once the show is over, plan on the exit being slow and extremely congested. It IS going to take you a while to get out of the general vicinity with all surrounding roads backed-up bumper to bumper.

My family and I have been coming to this annual fireworks display located at Twin Oaks park in Rocklin for many years, whenever we were able to attend. It's held both Saturday and Sunday nights at 9:30 (ish) pm the weekend before the 4th of July weekend. It's free to all and provided by Destiny Church, but "Donations" are accepted. It's quite popular too!!! But generally you're able to find a good spot to watch the fireworks show, even arriving minutes before the show. What a great way to spend family time!!! Many people get there early for a choice spot and have a family picnic while they wait for the event to begin. Many booths outline the event for food, etc.This year's fireworks show was shorter than normal and didn't meet the standards of the previous year's shows. But nobody can complain, it's free and was still fun to do with your family/friends.

Amazing event! My family looks forward to it even more than the Fourth of July! Can't wait for this year!

Great family friendly event, bring your coolers, food,chairs, pop-up tents, sweat shirts (it gets cooler when sun goes down). Awesome music, performances and of course the fireworks are amazing. All free!

Great organization of event. From the lines to get in and the limitations of what people were able to bring in. Beautiful show and display of fireworks.

This event went much as I expected before 9pm. Patriotic fervor, military branch acknowledgements, etc. All standard and expected. I even anticipated, as it was being held by the Destiny Church, some Christian based statement or video right before the fireworks. All would have been par for the course. What the crowd got was nothing less than lied too and duped. We, the community at large, were told that the show was at 8 and the fireworks were at 9. Starting at 9, with a captive crowd already along for the ride, the sponsors began hammering home their message of bigotry and intolerance. (A message at absolute odds to everything I've understood Jesus to stand for in the gospels.) The grey-haired man leading the charge, I assume, was either the lead pastor or a republican politician. He praised the good old days of his youth, with a promise to get back to those antiquated glory days. A time when certain members of our community couldn't vote, we're forced into hiding due to violence or the threat there of. A time when women were relegated to the home, expected to be subservient, and made a fraction of what men do. He wants a return to a town with empty streets on Sunday, due to everyone being in church. One can easily assume, based on his statement about Judeo-Christian values, what denomination of church he wants in "his" community. There were attacks about the validity of gay marriage and the ability of gay couples to raise kids. He couldn't believe that anyone could ever find fault in our "founding fathers." One of which it is widely believed to have committed adultery, and all of which either owned human beings as property or condoned that institution. (Spare me the "everyone was doing it" argument if you're also trying to profess the teachings of morality and loving your neighbor.) Heck, there was even a moment were he said the governor had pulled the plug and there weren't going to be any fire works. Not so much a harmless joke , as an attempt to further stoke hostile feelings toward anything other than a SUPER hard-right ideology that he was unabashedly promoting. (While there was one song pre 9pm that made statements about everyone being American and had some sense of unity, nothing from this man referenced any type of brotherly love or Christ-like compassion. Despite the vitriol I had to experience, regardless of YOUR political or religious beliefs, the biggest take away of this event and experience, is that a church actively LIED to the entire community. There was no lag in the show. The technical error that did happen lasted maybe a minute. Everything appeared to be on schedule, and that schedule was propaganda at 9, not fireworks. An outright, bold-faced lie, perpetrated by a Christian church.

this event was put on by a church. which is all fine and dandy. but what I really didn't appreciate was the fact that the pastor used his position in the church to preach politics. and it was clear that he was republican and couldn't stand democrats. it was a very unprofessional way of this pastor using his voice and platform for politics. I thought we were suppose to separate the church and state.

I thought the show was amazing and very family friendly. I'm thankful for the time and effort that went into putting on this FREE event. How can one *really* complain when something is free, why not just leave the event? . Prior to posting about my experience, I came across a few reviews sharing distaste/displeasure with the thoughts shared by a more right wing or conservative agenda, additionally, someone of a Christian background. As a person that is more 'center' in their politics (or I'd like to to think logical/critical thinker), it's a bit refreshing to hear from a different perspective than the predominate left from which one is inundated while living in CA; a viewpoint that is put forth as fact, and if you dare to think differently your character/integrity are called into question. This event was a bit of fresh air for me, as I grew up in the bay area and moved up this direction to get away from it all. So Rocklin, rock ON, and continue w/what you're doing. If you don't like it, then move on....