With the Fourth of July approaching, you know that means hot dogs, barbecue, potato chips, drinks of many varieties … in a word “calories.” So start the weekend off with the “Red, White & Brew 5K.” The event begins 6:45 a.m. this Saturday, July 3 at the American Icon Brewery, 1133 19th Place, Vero Beach. After the run there will be a light post-race breakfast, free beer, a patriotic costume contest and a free kids run. For more info, visit RunVero.com.
A couple of all-day festivals take place this weekend, both to celebrate Independence Day. On Saturday, July 3, the “Sebastian River Area Freedom Festival” begins at 8:30 a.m. when a parade goes from North Central Avenue and proceeds south on Indian River Drive to Riverview Park, U.S. 1 and County Road 512, Sebastian. From there, the festival grounds open at 10 a.m. There will be music, food and beer all day. Then, at dusk, fireworks will be set off. The fireworks will be set off over the lagoon, so you can view them from along Indian River Drive, the Wabasso Bridge and Wabasso Causeway Park. It is hosted by the City of Sebastian, Sebastian Lions Club and the Sebastian Masonic Lodge. Meanwhile, Vero Beach’s “Boom on the Lagoon” takes place Sunday, July 4 at Riverside Park beginning at 5 p.m. with vendors, children’s activities, food trucks, contests, live entertainment and a big Zambelli Fireworks display at 9 p.m., which will be set to synchronized music on iHeartRadio stations (iHeart.com). The Boom on the Lagoon festival is hosted, in part, by the City of Vero Beach, Indian River County and Mulligan’s Beach House.
Now, after all that celebrating, time to do some cleanup. But you can have a good time doing that by joining the Keep Indian River Beautiful folks as they gather at the Wabasso Causeway Park to pick up the firework debris and litter. They’ll be doing that from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday, July 5. Frequently, volunteers will gather afterwards and head someplace for lunch. “Everybody has a great time cleaning up, just seeing how much garbage and trash we get from it,” said Elaina Ledford, a 17-year-old who recently graduated from intern to staffer for the organization. The organization supplies gloves, trash bags, water and hand sanitizer to the volunteers. Of course, that means they need to know how many are going to show up, so they request that you go to their website, KeepIndianRiverBeautiful.org, and RSVP. And don’t be surprised if you, like Elaina, find the organization and the people who volunteer so much fun and so engaging that it ends up becoming a big part of your life and that you end up making new friends. “Oh yeah, for sure,” Elaina said. “People find out about other events we have. We keep people coming and keep people involved.” For more information, call 772-226-7738 or KeepIndianRiverBeautiful.org.
Summer days, filled with heat and frequent rain, are a great time to head to your local art museum. There, you can spend a good amount of time viewing beautiful works, browsing through artsy gift shops and maybe chancing upon a special event. Vero residents have the opportunity to do just that by visiting the wonderful Vero Beach Museum of Art. Situated in Riverside Park, the museum has ample parking and easy access. Currently, it has two exhibitions on view: “A Tribute to Christo & Jeanne-Claude: The Tom Golden Collection” and “Glass Works.” The Christo exhibition comes from the Museum of Sonoma County in Santa Rosa, California. It has a wealth of artifacts from the amazing and well-documented careers of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, frequently referred to as “wrap artists.” That exhibition runs through Sept. 5. The Glass Works exhibition has been curated from the museum’s own collection of high-quality glass artworks, including the large “Lapis Blue Persian,” created by celebrated glass artist Dale Chihuly. There are also Karen LaMonte’s “Reclining Dress Absence” and works by Kenneth Kerslake, Jon Kuhn, Dante Marioni and more. That exhibition runs through Sept. 1. Admission to the museum is $8 general, $7 seniors and free to children under 17 years. Members receive free admission. Membership begins at $50. The Vero Beach Museum of Art is at 3001 Riverside Park Dr. Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. Call 772-231-0707 or visit VBMuseum.org.