Check our July calendar for a comprehensive list of area events, from festivals to performing arts to sports.

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS:

Celebrate the Fourth of July with a bang at the Redwood City Independence Day Festival, which features a parade, crafts vendors, live music, kids’ activities and more. (July 4)

Radio Disney presents 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular, with music from such sci-fi hits as Star Wars and Star Trek, at Mountain View's Shoreline Amphitheater. (July 4)

COMING UP:

The Second City, Chicago’s legendary comedy theater and improv group comes to San Jose Rep to deliver big laughs by skewering hot-button topics. (July 14-19)

Toast the Santa Cruz Mountains terroir during Passport Day, where you can exclusive access to wineries that aren’t open to the public, exclusive barrel tastings and more. (July 18)

Celebrate ancient tradition at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum's Epagomenal Festival, with tomb tours, fun kids' activities, workshops and special lectures. (July 18-19)

FEATURES:

Unlock the fascinating mysteries of ancient Egypt at San Jose's impressive Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, the largest of its kind west of the Mississippi River.

TheatreWorks' annual New Works Festival, featuring staged readings of new plays and musicals, hatches entertainment for passionate theater lovers.

DON'T MISS:

See 60 works from the pop and minimalism movements of the 1960s to 21st-century media at the Cantor Arts Center's newest exhibit, Pop to Present. (thru Aug 16)

Check out Charles Babbage's visionary Difference Engine No. 2, a triumph of Victorian mechanics, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. (thru Dec 2009)


DISCOVER DINING HIGHLIGHT:

There's plenty of good Italian food, drink and good times to be had at Bella Mia in the heart of downtown San Jose, whether it's a dinner for two or a banquet for 200.

Explore our site to discover the area's best dining, shopping, places to stay and things to see and do ... from Silicon Valley to the Peninsula, and on the coast from Santa Cruz to Half Moon Bay.

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