Dispatch #3 · TUE, JUNE 30, 2026 · NoCo · TUE HIGH 86° · STARS, STRIPES, AND SPARKLERS
Postcard from NoCo
Hi NoCo families. Not much says summer like a hometown 4th, and this one is special: Colorado turns 150 and America 250. From morning parades to fireworks after dark, the towns near you have it covered, all sorted right here. Pack the cooler, find your patch of grass, and oh, the places you'll actually go.
JP & Alexis
Where To This Week
THIS WEEK
FoCo Food Truck Rally — FREE
Tue 6/30 · 5:30pm to dusk · City Park, Fort Collins
A rotating lineup of trucks and free live music. Grab dinner, let the kids run, skip cooking on a Tuesday. Details →
Kids on the Plaza — FREE
Wed 7/1 · 12pm to 2pm · The Foundry, downtown Loveland
Splash pad, lawn games, and crafts every Wednesday all summer. The reliable downtown reset for a hot afternoon. Details →
Berthoud 3rd of July at Waggener Farm Park — FREE
Fri 7/3 · from 5pm · Waggener Farm Park, Berthoud
Berthoud gets a head start on the holiday with more than 30 food trucks, inflatables, lawn games, and live music (DJ Drake at 5, Tumbledown Shack at 7), capped by a big fireworks display at dusk. A full family evening the night before the 4th. Details →
THE FOURTH OF JULY · SATURDAY 7/4
Good news: you don't have to go far. All over NoCo, parades and festivals fill the day, then fireworks light up the night sky, from Loveland to Fort Collins and even over to Estes. The shows start late, most after 9:15, so plan the nap. Here's the day, town by town.
Fort Collins: Independence Day Community Celebration — FREE
Sat 7/4 · all day, fireworks ~9:35pm · City Park, Fort Collins
The fullest day-long lineup in NoCo, and this year it doubles as the country's 250th and Colorado's 150th. The FireKracker 5K runs at 7:30am, then food trucks, free live music, and the Family Fun Zone and a Touch-a-Truck fill the east playground through the early afternoon, with the City Park Pool open noon to 4pm and free trolley rides from noon to 5pm. A new Walk Through History adds a Field of Honor, costumed re-enactors, and a Liberty 250 exhibit. Fireworks close it out over Sheldon Lake around 9:35pm. Details →
Loveland: July 4th Festival — FREE
Sat 7/4 · festival from 11am, parade 4pm, fireworks ~9:17pm · North Lake Park, 2750 N. Taft Ave, Loveland
Fireworks are back at Lake Loveland this year. Start at North Lake Park with the Lions Club barbecue (11am to 5pm) and the kid-sized Buckhorn Train (noon to 8pm), then settle in for the Kids' Zone (games, face painting, music from 4pm), food trucks, and the Loveland Concert Band at 8pm before the fireworks launch from the north side of the lake around 9:17pm. Details →
Greeley: Stampede Finale + Independence Day Parade — Parade free; grounds $5 adults
Sat 7/4 · parade 9am, fireworks ~10pm · Downtown Greeley + Island Grove Regional Park
Greeley goes all out on the 4th. It starts with Colorado's largest Independence Day parade at 9am (this year's theme is "Celebrating Colorado," with 130-plus floats, bands, and horses rolling east along 10th Avenue from the UNC campus to Lincoln Park), and it is free to line up and watch. The Stampede grounds then run all day on its final day (free stage music, the Western Art Show, carnival, and a demolition derby; $5 adult grounds admission). The night ends with what the Stampede is billing as the state's biggest fireworks show at 10pm. Details →
Windsor: 4th of July Celebration — FREE
Sat 7/4 · activities from 12pm, fireworks ~9:15pm · Boardwalk Park at Windsor Lake, Windsor
A lakeside classic. Vendors and family activities run from noon to 9:30pm, the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra plays a free concert at 7:15pm, and the fireworks go up over Windsor Lake right after, around 9:15pm. Bring picnic baskets, blankets, and lawn chairs (no tents). Details →
Timnath: 4th of July Celebration — FREE
Sat 7/4 · from 6pm, fireworks ~9:30pm · Timnath Reservoir, Timnath
Timnath's pyro-musical show over the reservoir is one of the area's biggest, choreographed to music. The kids' activities, live music, and fireworks are all free, kicking off at 6pm. (You only need a reservoir permit if you want to be on the water before 4pm.) Details →
Wellington: 4th of July — FREE
Sat 7/4 · pancake breakfast 7am, parade 10am, festival 11am to 2pm, fireworks ~9:39pm · Wellington
Wellington's marquee day of the year, and it starts with breakfast: a community pancake feed runs 7am to 10am, then the parade heads down Cleveland Avenue at 10am. From 11am to 2pm the Family Festival fills Wellington Community Park (splash pad, playgrounds, yard games, inflatables, food trucks) and a Main Street Market runs in Centennial Park, with more around town through the afternoon. Fireworks light up around 9:39pm. Details →
Berthoud: Bells of Berthoud Ring Out — FREE
Sat 7/4 · 2:50pm · Fickel Park, Berthoud
A small, lovely one: the Berthoud Historical Society leads a town-wide ringing of church bells at 2:50pm to mark Independence Day and Colorado's 150th. A two-minute moment of something old-fashioned in the middle of a loud, sugary day. Details →
LOOKING AHEAD
Lovely Lit Books grand opening — FREE
Mon 7/6 · from 9am to 1pm · Pedro's Coffee, Timnath
Just past this week, but worth the heads-up: a NoCo mobile bookstore celebrates its grand opening at Pedro's Coffee in Timnath. Books and a good cup, two of our favorite things in one stop. (@lovelylit.books)
NoCo Regulars
Markets and story times you can count on (note the holiday weekend may shift a few Saturday hours, check before you go): Larimer County Farmers' Market (Sat, Old Town Fort Collins) · Loveland Farmers' Market (Sun) · Greeley Summer Market (Sat) · Fort Collins Farmers' Market (Sun & Wed) · Loveland Library Baby & Toddler Storytime (Tue).
Local Business Spotlight: Bread Fellow
Bread Fellow, Old Town Fort Collins (@breadfellowoldtown)
A family-owned, small-batch bakery and cafe on Linden Street, and a fitting next stop on our coffee tour: they roast their beans in-house, so the coffee is as much the point as the naturally leavened breads and hearty soups. It is the kind of warm Old Town room where you can grab a good cup, split a fresh loaf or a pastry with the kids, and ease into the day. And with the free City Park trolley running to Old Town on the 4th, it is an easy detour from the festivities. Open Monday to Saturday, 8am to 4pm. Come make a slow morning of downtown.
Community Corner
We are three stops into our NoCo coffee tour now: Lima and FeelLove, and Bread Fellow in Old Town Fort Collins this week. Who should we visit next, especially out in Windsor, Greeley, or Wellington? Hit reply with your favorite local shop. We read every single one.
Got a family event on your radar? Add it at theplacesno.co/submit-event and it might land in an upcoming dispatch.
That's the week, NoCo. Whether you chase fireworks across three towns or just light sparklers in the driveway, we hope it's a good one. Know a parent who is still deciding where to watch? Forward this their way.
Be the parent who somehow always knows about this stuff.
Alexis & JP