July 4 – WYC Event – Dinner and Fireworks

Make your dinner reservations for July 4 today to guarantee a PARKING SPOT at WYC for the fireworks

FIREWORKS Viewing – The best seat in Waukegan for the annual July 4 Fireworks is the Waukegan Yacht Club and we are looking forward to a great day of fun.

DECORATE YOUR BOAT! Bring your boat over to the club dock in the afternoon to celebrate Independence Day with us & win a special pre-fireworks treat. If you decorate your boat for the holiday, you’ll be entered to win a free WYC party of your choice.

LIVE MUSIC – Chicago Mike will be joining us with a show that is fun for all generations and ages – kid and grandkid friendly fun – a great ramp up to the big fireworks show.

DINNER BUFFET – Dinner will be served from 5:30 – 7:30 PM – a buffet of classic American picnic foods along with some delicious surprises. The buffet includes our famous WYC salad bar. There will be dairy free, gluten free, and vegan options clearly labeled within the wide variety of choices, plus sweet treats.

PARKING restrictions – the club parking lot will be restricted to club members and dining guests with reservations, but the WYC cannot guarantee that the police department will allow you through in the late afternoon or early evening. We recommend you come early, go paddling or rowing, go sailing on your boat or a friend’s boat, take long leisurely walks through the harbor, bring yard games for the dock, or come in to enjoy card and board games at tables inside the club.

If you cannot arrive before noon, we highly recommend you approach the harbor via the Belvidere Road ramp instead of Grand Ave. If you find that you are stuck in a long line of cars heading toward us, please represent our club well by being patient and respectful to Waukegan Police Officers who WILL stop you.

We cannot predict what time they will begin to cut off traffic into the harbor, but it is not unusual for the restrictions to start as early as 3:00. This is dependent on the volume of the crowd that has already been admitted to the Waukegan Beach, which is often dependent on the weather. If it is a beautiful day, with no threat of rain, they will reach the beach parking limit very quickly and begin turning cars away. Once that occurs, they begin to deal with an ever increasing number of irate and rude people who complain to them.

Smile! Say hello. Be pleasant and politely tell them that you were instructed to use this path to get to the HARBOR and that a parking space has been reserved for you. Be conscious of how frustrating it is to manage traffic and the safety of so many people, most of whom do not appreciate the work that goes into this day, and be nice. If you are attempting to approach after 5:00 PM, do not be surprised if you must park in the downtown area and walk through the train station to reach us.

NOTICE: The Waukegan Yacht Club is a 501(c)(7) nonprofit organization residing in a facility built by our members in 1968 and expanded by our members in 1985. It is not required to be an ADA compliant facility, however, we endeavor to make accommodations for individual circumstances and to continue to add elements toward compliance as our financial situation improves.