Modoc County California Fandango Days Festival

In most California towns, the Fourth of July means a parade and a fireworks show. In Modoc County it means Fandango Days, a celebration that has gathered the community every summer since 1963 and stretches from downtown Alturas to a lake west of town.

Named for the lively frontier dance, Fandango Days pairs a Main Street parade with a street dance, park games, food and music, and a fireworks display reflected over the water at California Pines. It is the county’s signature summer event.

This guide covers what Fandango Days is, how the celebration has evolved, and how to plan a Fourth of July in California’s far northeast.

What Fandango Days Is

Fandango Days is a multi-day community celebration organized around Independence Day. The Alturas Chamber of Commerce has long sponsored the event, and its shape is familiar to anyone who has spent a summer in a small western town: a parade, a street dance, food and games, and fireworks after dark.

The parade travels down Main Street in Alturas, led by a grand marshal chosen from the community. After the parade, attention shifts to the park, where families gather for food, games and live music. In the evening the celebration often moves west to the community of California Pines for a fireworks show over the lake.

For a nearby comparison, see the Modoc County California Modoc District Fair Festival.

A Celebration Since 1963

Fandango Days has been a Modoc County tradition since 1963, which makes it one of the longer-running Independence Day celebrations in rural Northern California. It grew out of the same impulse that sustains small-town holidays everywhere: a chance for a spread-out ranching county to gather, celebrate and catch up.

The name is a nod to the region’s frontier past. A fandango was a lively dance, and the evening street dance that still anchors the weekend keeps the spirit. Older residents recall decades of parades and dances, and the event’s photographs have become a kind of community archive.

Over the years the celebration has adapted to the calendar, moving off the Fourth itself when the holiday falls midweek, but the core of the event has stayed remarkably consistent.

Where and When

Fandango Days centers on Alturas, the Modoc County seat, and extends to California Pines, a community about a half hour west of town. The celebration typically runs across the days around the Fourth of July, with the parade and park activities in Alturas and the fireworks at California Pines.

Location	Alturas and California Pines, Modoc County, California
Typical timing	Around the Fourth of July, over one to two days
First held	1963
Organizer	Alturas Chamber of Commerce
Parade	Down Main Street in Alturas, led by a grand marshal
Evening	Street dance in town; fireworks over the lake at California Pines
Admission	Most activities are free and open to the public

The Parade and Main Street

The parade is the centerpiece of the daytime celebration. It moves down Main Street in Alturas and draws floats, wagons, classic cars, riders and community groups. A grand marshal, often a longtime local figure, leads the procession.

Alturas itself is worth a look on parade day. The town has a single traffic light, a neoclassical county courthouse, and a compact downtown of shops and cafes that fill quickly when the county turns out. The atmosphere is unhurried and unmistakably rural.

Food, Games and the Street Dance

After the parade, the celebration settles into the park for food, games and music. Vendors and community groups set up, and children’s activities run through the afternoon. Local art and craft exhibits, including the wood artisans’ show at the Art Center, have been part of the weekend’s program in past years.

The street dance takes over in the evening, with live music and a crowd that ranges from teenagers to grandparents. It is the social high point of the celebration, and the dancing carries the fandango name forward.

Fireworks Over the Lake

The fireworks display at California Pines is the weekend’s finale. Set off over the lake, it is watched from the shore by families who make an evening of it, often after a barbecue dinner at the lodge. The reflection of the fireworks on the water is the image most locals associate with Fandango Days.

Because California Pines is a short drive from Alturas, visitors can attend the parade and park events in town, have dinner, and then head west for the show. The whole arc of the day fits into a single unhurried schedule.

Planning Your Visit

Modoc County is one of the most remote parts of California, and planning matters. Lodging is limited to a handful of motels and inns in Alturas and nearby, and holiday weekends fill quickly. Fuel and groceries are available in Alturas, but services thin out beyond it.

• Book lodging in Alturas early; the Fourth of July weekend is the busiest of the year.
• Arrive before the parade to find parking near Main Street.
• Bring cash for park vendors and a blanket for the fireworks at California Pines.
• Plan for cool evenings, even in midsummer, at this elevation.
• Check the Chamber of Commerce schedule, since events shift when the Fourth falls midweek.

Beyond the Celebration

Fandango Days is a good reason to spend a few days in Modoc County. The Modoc National Wildlife Refuge south of Alturas is a major stop for migratory birds, and the Modoc National Forest offers mountain and high-desert country with few visitors. The Warner Mountains rise east of town, and Cedar Pass leads toward Surprise Valley and the Modoc District Fair’s fairgrounds in Cedarville.

To the west, Lava Beds National Monument preserves lava tubes, petroglyphs and the landscape of the Modoc War. The region rewards travelers who like long drives, open country and small towns that still hold a parade on the Fourth of July.

Alturas on the Fourth

Alturas is the largest town in Modoc County and the natural base for the celebration. It sits at the junction of Highways 299 and 395, surrounded by the Modoc National Forest and the high desert of the state’s northeast corner. The town is small enough that the parade is a genuine county gathering rather than a tourist event.

On the Fourth, Main Street fills with spectators and the park becomes a fairground for an afternoon. Local organizations run food booths, children’s games take over the grass, and the art center opens its annual summer exhibit. The pace is slow, and the mood is friendly.

Because Alturas is the county seat, the celebration also has a civic character. The courthouse and the surrounding blocks are part of the backdrop, and local officials and community groups appear in the parade alongside families and ranch wagons.

A Holiday for a Spread-Out County

Modoc County is larger than several states and home to only a few thousand people, so its communities are scattered across a vast landscape. Fandango Days exists in part to pull those communities together. Ranching families from Surprise Valley, the Likely area and the outlying ranches all make the trip into Alturas for the weekend.

That social function is the real point of the celebration. The parade and the fireworks are the occasion, but the value is in the gathering: neighbors who have not seen one another since the last fair, students home from college, and families who have held the same spot on Main Street for decades.

The Art Center and Community Traditions

The Fandango Days weekend has long included an art component. The Alturas Art Center opens its annual wood artisans’ exhibit around the holiday, displaying furniture, frames, carvings, driftwood sculpture and functional objects made by artists from across the county. The show typically continues through July, giving visitors a reason to return after the celebration.

Community groups are the backbone of the whole event. Service clubs run food booths, the chamber organizes the parade, and volunteers handle everything from parking to the fireworks launch. As in most small towns, the celebration works because a relatively small number of people are willing to do a great deal of organizing.

That volunteer structure also keeps Fandango Days free and informal. There is no admission gate and no commercial sponsor dominating the weekend, which is why the event still feels like a family reunion rather than a produced festival.

How Fandango Days Got Its Name

A fandango, in the old western sense, was a lively social dance, often held to celebrate a wedding, a holiday or the end of a long season of work. The name fits a county whose celebration has always been built around music and dancing, and the street dance at the heart of the weekend keeps the tradition literal.

The word carries the flavor of the frontier West that still shapes Modoc County’s identity. This is ranch country, remote and sparsely populated, where traditions survive because families stay and because the distance from larger cities keeps the culture distinct. A celebration named for a dance is a natural fit.

Organizers lean into that history. The parade, the dance and the lake fireworks are all deliberately old-fashioned, and the event has resisted the pull toward a bigger, more commercial format. That restraint is what regulars value most.

Festival Area Map

The map below marks Alturas and the downtown parade route, with the approach along Highway 395 for planning your visit to Fandango Days.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Fandango Days?

It is held around the Fourth of July, sometimes shifted to the nearest weekend when the holiday falls midweek.

Where is it held?

In Alturas, California, with the fireworks display at California Pines west of town.

How long has it been held?

Fandango Days has been a Modoc County tradition since 1963.

Is there a parade?

Yes, a parade runs down Main Street in Alturas, led by a grand marshal.

Is admission free?

Most Fandango Days activities are free and open to the public.

What happens in the evening?

A street dance with live music in Alturas, and a fireworks display over the lake at California Pines.

What to Expect From the Next Fandango Days

How often is it held?

It is an annual celebration, held each July.

When is the next Fandango Days?

The next edition is expected around the Fourth of July. Confirm the schedule with the Alturas Chamber of Commerce.

Will the format change?

The parade, street dance and lake fireworks have been consistent for years, though specific events and locations shift from time to time.

Last updated: October 2026

Fandango Days is a reminder of how much a small county can make of a holiday. With a parade down Main Street, a dance in the evening and fireworks over a lake, Modoc County celebrates the Fourth the way it has for more than sixty years. For a visitor, it is an easy and genuinely warm introduction to one of California’s least-known corners.