5 events not to miss over Fourth of July weekend in Las Vegas

Plan to put on your red, white and blue as Sin City celebrates the Fourth of July weekend with music, parades and fireworks, stretching from Las Vegas Boulevard to the suburbs.

Linq Promenade: Festivities at the entertainment and retail district across the Strip from Caesars Palace begin Friday and continue throughout the holiday weekend.

Festive parades -- with only-in-Vegas touches such as soldiers and showgirls side by side – will be held Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday afternoons.

Processions will begin at 2 p.m. from Las Vegas Boulevard and move through the mall. Caricature artists, face painters and stilt walkers will entertain the crowds each afternoon.

The High Roller: On Sunday, the High Roller observation wheel will provide bird’s-eye views of the 9 p.m. fireworks spectacle above Caesars Palace.

Nighttime tickets start at $30 with advanced purchase. While supplies last that day, riders will be given free commemorative T-shirts.

Caesars Palace: The celebration will get underway at 8 p.m. on a stage built over the resort’s iconic fountains. “American Idol” winner Taylor Hicks and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Star of Nevada marching band are scheduled to entertain.

Fireworks will be preceded by a nighttime jump by the Red Bull Air Force skydiving team.

T-Mobile Arena: Farther south on the Strip, fireworks will light up the night sky Saturday through Monday above the new T-Mobile Arena.

The pyrotechnics will launch each evening as concertgoers leave the stadium following performances by country superstar Garth Brooks.

Drivers beware: The concerts and the fireworks will likely create big traffic jams along Las Vegas Boulevard in the vicinity of the arena, just north of the New York-New York resort.

Summerlin Council Patriotic Parade: For Southern Nevada’s biggest Independence Day parade, folks need to head to the suburbs for the Summerlin Council Patriotic Parade.

Stepping off at 9 a.m. Monday, the parade will feature flavors of both a small-town America celebration -- thanks to fire engines, flag-toting veterans and marching bands -- and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, as more than 25 giant balloons will float above the route.

New inflatables this year include tributes to the “Avengers” and “Star Wars” movies.

The parade will travel along Hills Center Drive, about 15 miles northwest of the Strip.

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