San Pedro’s Fourth of July holiday celebration will feature fireworks at Cabrillo Beach this year, a welcome return to tradition for the patriotic holiday during the 75th anniversary of the local celebration after last year’s forced drone show stand-in experiment drew mostly fizzled reviews.

This year’s event — scheduled for 9 to 11 p.m. Saturday, July 5 — will bring a return to the fireworks show to Pier 46 with views from Cabrillo Beach and surrounding areas. The best viewing points will be for those who purchase tickets — $75 each, which will include a barbecue and seating — for the 75th Annual John Olguin Independence Day Fireworks Extravaganza at the Cabrillo Beach Youth Waterfront Sports Center, 3000 Shoshonean Road=.

The switch from July 4 to 5 this year, meanwhile, was unavoidable, organizers said, as they were unable to book a fireworks vendor for Independence Day. And that was partly because of last year’s forced change that pushed the celebration from the July 4 to 6).

But organizers also say it was serendipitous, with the 4th of July landing on Friday — making it a long weekend anyway.

Since July 5 lands on a Saturday this year, it’s likely, organizers said, that even bigger crowds will turn out for the big 75th anniversary celebration and the return of the fireworks on a summer weekend.

A couple of surveys were done following the drone show last year, said Gary Dwight of the Cabrillo Beach Boosters, the nonprofit that organizes the event every year.

“There were many people who were disappointed,” he said. “The majority would prefer fireworks.”

“I’ve been very supportive of the Cabrillo Beach Boosters and appreciative of their commitment to reach out to the community for input on this year’s Independence Day show,” Los Angeles Councilmember Tim McOsker said in a written comment. “It’s clear that there’s overwhelming interest in bringing fireworks back, and that kind of engagement shows strong community support. I know it will be a great holiday event where we can come together for a fun, safe and professional show.”

Realtor Lee Williams, who also serves on the Los Angeles harbor commission, said he favors an eventual move toward drone shows — or some hybrid of drones and fireworks — for the future.

“I’m disturbed by the amount of debris that’s left and the noise that affects our pets and veterans and other people who are sensitive to the sounds; the marine animals, I don’t think it’s the best time for them,” he said. “I’d love to see us get to a drone-only or a drone-hybrid show.”

Williams attended last year’s drone show and said the accompanying music, which was on a streaming system, cut out at some point — and the show lasted only about 10 minutes (half the time as the fireworks shows). And at one point, the visiting Italian ship had a light beam turned onto the beach that was distracting.

An online survey Williams posted later, he said, received 361 responses, with 69.5% favoring fireworks and 30.5% favoring drones when asked which they preferred going forward.

But fireworks shows have faced growing challenges in recent years, from noise complaints to concerns about fire hazards — which have grown following this year’s devastating L.A. wildfires fires — and pollution concerns especially in and around waterways.

Insurance and cleanup requirements and other costs have risen drastically for sponsors of the Fourth of July programs, including the Port of Los Angeles, which this year will go forward with its Cars and Stripes Forever fireworks car show spectacular, which will take place from  5 to 10 p.m. Friday, June 27, at the harbor near the Vincent Thomas Bridge.

But the chain of events that precipitated the date change for this year’s holiday fireworks show at Cabrillo really started in 2024.

Last year’s event technically wound up being “canceled,” though a show did go on — but on July 6, a Thursday, two days after Independence Day — and with a forced last-minute substitution using drones rather than fireworks.

The fireworks company that was slated to put on the 2024 show notified Dwight that it wouldn’t be able to do so. And that sent the boosters scrambling.

Insurance was another issue, he said, and it all generally wound up being combined with a long weekend visit to the Harbor Area by the Amerigo Vespucci from July 3 to 8 that wrapped in the holiday events.

Unable to find a new producer for the Independence Day celebration specifically, the boosters, the nonprofit that supports Cabrillo Beach, instead booked National Experiential, a company that has produced drone shows at the Santa Monica Pier and other locations nationwide. Company representatives met with organizers and city officials, including McOsker, to finalize the plans for the event.

Unfortunately, Dwight said, the drone company was already booked for Independence Day in 2024 — so the event had to be planned for July 6.

And while this year’s show will have traditional fireworks, Dwight said, they may face a limited long-term future going forward.

Vendors who can still put on the fireworks shows are getting harder to find, the cost of insurance is going up, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to get all the permits submitted in time — because they now require extra steps and assurances of extensive water cleanups after the events.

But next year’s San Pedro Fourth of July show is guaranteed — and for the July 4 — Dwight said, as the boosters have signed up with the same group that’s doing the port’s 2026 Cars and Strips program for the Port of Los Angeles.