Acoustic guitarist Ronnie Mills will be performing at Benicia’s 4th of July Picnic in the Park. (Photo by Maximille Gonzales)

Benicia’s Torchlight Parade on July 3 is always one of the city’s most celebrated events of the year, but the 4th of July fun does not stop there. There is also the Picnic in the Park the following day, and if the looks of its amenities and entertainment are any indication, it is worth forgoing a backyard barbecue this year.

The Picnic in the Park, sponsored by Benicia Main Street, serves as a prelude to that evening’s fireworks with hot food, an open-air market, arts and crafts, a rock climbing wall and children’s activities in City Park. And, of course, there are five acts who will perform on the Marin Clean Energy stage and add atmosphere to the already festive day.

The event kicks off at noon with a rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by frequent performer Tony Turner and a welcome message by Mayor Elizabeth Patterson. From 12:30 to 1 p.m., Benicia’s very own M.O.V.E.S. Dance Academy will perform their very own dance routine.

Beginning at 1 p.m., the event will become a showcase for three Bay Area talents. The first, performing from 1 to 2, is Ronnie Mills, an acoustic guitarist who began singing at the age of 6 when he performed a duet of “Away in a Manger” at his church. He was signed to Connected Music Ministries at the age in 2015 and has since opened for several Christian music acts, took first place in the 2015 Kingdom Bound Talent Showcase and was a finalist in 2017 for both the ASCAP Expo factor and Solano County Talent Showcases. Now recording independently, Mills has released three EPs plus a Christmas EP.

From 2:30 to 4:40 p.m., Michelle Lambert will take the stage. Lambert is an indie pop singer/songwriter with blue-eyed soul and country influences. (She has even been known to cover “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” in concert, complete with a fiddle.) Lambert attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she graduated in vocal performance. She later moved to Nashville, where she performed at the Grand Ole Opry and the NCAA Women’s Final Four. Now living in California, Lambert is extensively touring throughout the state. Her Picnic in the Park set comes in between performing dates at the Mt. Shasta Music Festival and San Jose Summer Music Series.

The event will close with a performance by the Crosstown 5 from 5 to 7 p.m. The East Bay quintet is fronted by Kenny Linker and Delia Colorado, and rounded out by Chris Henry, Sam Tucker and David Bridgham. The band’s repertoire consists of covers of six decades of famous party tunes and classic rock staples. From Chuck Berry to Pink Floyd to Bruno Mars, the Crosstown 5’s setlist is varied and should bring a lot of energy to City Park with the band’s renditions of familiar tunes.

City Park is located at the corner of First Street and Military West. All of the Picnic in the Park activities are free, but donations are appreciated to help defray the costs.

After the crowds disperse from City Park, they will make their way to the First Street Green where the fireworks are set to begin at 9 p.m.

For more information on any of these events, call Benicia Main Street at 745-9791. For more information on the July 3 Torchlight Parade, keep reading the Herald.

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