Enjoy summer fun starting now

Now that graduation ceremonies are over, summer camps have begun and vacations are being planned, it feels like summer is here. Never mind that summer officially begins on June 21. It already seems like the next season, with a host of activities from summer reading library programs for the whole family to summer family movie nights underway. And we're more than ready for summer, a time when it stays lighter at night so we can play more outside and the overall mood of friends and neighbors is more laidback. Lucky for us in south Placer County that plenty of community events occur throughout the week in Lincoln, Loomis, Rocklin, Roseville, Granite Bay and in nearby Folsom. Even for residents who can't unwind with a summer vacation during the next few months, they can find plenty of local activities to do for a quick break from daily routines. The entertainment for all ages, from street festivals to theater to concert series, won't break our budget; all but the Placer County Fair listed here are free and the fair admission is inexpensive. So it's easy to start participating in summer fun. For starters, going in alphabetical order, the city of Lincoln Recreation Department and the Lincoln Area Chamber of Commerce sponsor monthly summer concerts from June to August at Beermann Plaza on 5th and F street in Lincoln. The downtown Lincoln concerts start on a Friday, June 23, with American Mile, which plays Southern blues/rock/country rock/Americana. On July 21. the Ariel Jean Band takes the stage with modern country songs. The series ends on Aug. 18 with North Forty playing country rock. The shows start at 7:30 p.m. with a beer garden and food vendors on site. Also from June to September in Lincoln, the city hosts Movies Under the Stars at a Lincoln park for all ages to enjoy. Movies start at dusk and gates open an hour prior. Movies Under the Stars kicks off on June 16 with "Minions" at Twelve Bridges Park. "Angels in the Outfield" will be shown July 14 at McBean Stadium. "Top Gun Maverick" will be shown Aug. 25 at the Lincoln Regional Airport. "Guardians of the Galaxy" is on Sept. 8 at an unnamed location. In Loomis, summer fun started early with the annual town of Loomis Summer Concert Series beginning May 12 at the Loomis Train Depot, 5775 Horseshoe Bar Road. The Loomis summer concerts are held the second Friday night of each month through August in conjunction with the Loomis Basin Chamber of Commerce Friday Family Fest events. Bring a lawn chair and enjoy live music, food trucks and family-fun activities. The bands play from 7 to 9 p.m. Admission is free, with the train depot parking lot on the side of the depot available for concert-goers. Children's activities during the Loomis concerts include bounce houses, arts and crafts and a refreshing Splash Pad. On July 14, the Four Barrel band will perform rock 'n' roll songs from the 1960s to today. The summer's final concert of the series on Aug. 11 will be a twin bill of Pat Benatar tribute band Invincible and Fleetwood Mac tribute group Stand Back. In Rocklin, PARK PULSE! from 5 to 9 p.m. on June 23, July 28 and Aug. 18 at Johnson-Springview Park features family-friendly interactive games, food trucks and local musicians. Also in Rocklin, one of the four Movie in the Park nights of the year returns at 7 p.m. July 14 to Twin Oaks Park. Bring the entire family and set up blankets and low-backed chairs at Twin Oaks Park before 7 p.m. July 14 to watch "Jumanji." Food trucks will be there before the movie begins. In the next city over, another popular family event is Downtown Tuesday Nights from 5:30 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday from June 6 to July 25 (except July 4) at Vernon Street in Roseville. All ages can stroll through the downtown street festival and take in live music and a car show, grab dinner or snacks and visit vendors. Youth can cool down in the water feature. Downtown Roseville Merchants, Inc. sponsors the seasonal weekly event. The free Concerts on the Square returns the third Saturdays from June through September, also at Vernon Street Town Square in Roseville. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. and music starts at 7:30 p.m. Food trucks and a beer garden will be available. June 17 features Motley 2, a Motley Crue tribute band; July 15 features Fan Halen, a Van Halen tribute band; Aug. 19 features Skynnyn Lynnyrd, a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band; and Sept. 16 features Summer Night City, an ABBA tribute band. For more music in a park setting, check out the Roseville Music in the Park series at Royer Park, 190 Park Drive, Roseville. The 6 p.m. concert lineup is June 11 with Turn the Page, a Bob Seger tribute band; July 9 with Love Somebody Band, old school R&B; Aug. 6 with the Sun Kings, a Beatles tribute band; and Sept. 10 with the Bruce Springsteen Experience, a tribute band. The Sept. 10 concert honors our first responders. Just a short drive away in neighboring Sacramento County is Folsom with two free outdoor concert series kicking off this month: the Historic Folsom Twilight Concert Series on Thursdays and Folsom's Summer of Music Concert Series on Fridays. Bring low-back chairs or picnic blankets to the Zittel Family Amphitheatre (200 Wool St.) from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursdays hosted by the Historic Folsom District. The schedule is June 15, the Cynthia Renee Band; June 22, Island of Black and White; June 29, Hipnosis; July 6, The Golden Cadillacs; July 13, FBI; July 20, Old Mule; July 27, AKA Band; Aug. 3, Jax Hammer; Aug. 10, Tom Rigney and Flambeau; Aug. 17, APPLE Z; Aug. 24, Bear Whiskey; and Aug. 31, Two Step. The city of Folsom's Parks and Recreation District's Summer of Music Concert Series is from 7 to 9 p.m.at Folsom City Lions Park, 411 Stafford St. on June 23 with Wasted Space, July 14 with Ariel Jean Band and July 28 with Fryed Brothers Band. For information on the Summer of Music series, visit Facebook.com/FolsomParksandRec. For information on the Twilight Concert Series, visit historicfolsom.org. Two annual family events, the 85th Placer County Fair from June 22 to 25 @the Grounds in Roseville and the Fourth of July all-day celebration in downtown Lincoln, attract thousands of residents and visitors, many returning each year. The fair includes carnival rides; family fun zone; still exhibits, livestock competitions, scholarship pageant, rib cookoff, scavenger hunt and stand-up photo cut-out competitions; food vendors; and also an impressive concert series. This year, the Spazmatics, Wonder Bread 5 and The Outlaw Mariachi will play. The annual Fourth of July event on the actual holiday in Lincoln includes 15 hours of nonstop activities from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. That includes the traditional pancake breakfast, community parade, horseshoe tournament, swimming, food and vendors, kids' zone, live music and fireworks. Every year, area residents stay all day in downtown Lincoln and then at nearby McBean Park waiting for the huge fireworks show. The day is sponsored by the Lincoln Fourth of July Foundation, Lincoln Area Chamber of Commerce and Native Sons of the Golden West.Summer is fun in Placer County, with a multitude of entertainment offerings. Check these pages all summer long to find more entertainment options. The events mentioned above are just a few of the many summer community events. Although the kids are back in school weeks before, summer officially ends Sept. 21. Between now and then, it's easy to have loads of summer fun every week in the area.