Show time in the sky.
The dark summer night will explode with melting blossoms of phosphorescent color — fireworks! — with a free concert by Air National Guard Band of the Northeast before on July Fourth at Ridgefield High School.
“Everyone can come out and enjoy the music that the military band will provide, and the fireworks, which we hope will be a spectacular show, as it has in the past,” said Tom O’Grady, chairman of the Family Fourth Committee, which organizes the annual event.
“I’m just hoping we have a decent day and a wonderful crowd, as we have in the past.”
Ridgefield High School’s grounds open at 6 for picnicking. There will be food and novelty vendors — glow bracelets, parents!
The band concert is planned for 7 to 8:30. And the fireworks will be at dusk.
There will be parking at Ridgefield High School — including handicapped parking — and shuttle buses will provide rides to and from secondary parking lots at Scotland School and Barlow Mountain School complex.
Parking passes are required at both sites, and cost $20 per car — payable in cash or by check. All proceeds from the sale of parking passes goes to the Family Fourth Committee. They’re available at Ridgefield town hall, the Chamber of Commerce office on Bailey Avenue, and at branches in town of the Fairfield County Bank, the main sponsor of the fireworks.
Parking passes will also be sold at the gate “for the last minute party goers,” said Debra Hayes of the Family Fourth Committee.
There are no refunds for parking passes in the event of rescheduling or cancellation.
If it’s raining too hard Saturday night, July 4, the fireworks show will be postponed one day to Sunday, July 5.
The band concert will go on as scheduled Saturday night in the event of rain, but will be indoors at the high school’s student center, as they call the cafeteria, rather than outside by the high school gym as is planned in good weather. People are encouraged to bring their own chairs into the student center.
“If it’s clear they’ll play outside. If it’s light rain or something like that, and no threat of thunderstorms, we’re going to do the fireworks, I think, but the band wouldn’t be able to play outside. They’ll go into the cafeteria,” O’Grady said.
Big brass band
The concert by Air National Guard Band of the Northeast is being presented by the American Legion Post 78, and its concert organizer Jack Herr, who has been bringing military bands to town for decades.
The Air National Guard Band of the Northeast is described as the premier military band from within the Pennsylvania Air National Guard. It has played throughout the United States and abroad, and features a variety of classical, jazz, popular music, marches, patriotic favorites and show tunes.
“There is a vocalist,” Herr said. “There’ll be instrumental soloists.”
A traditional Air National Guard squadron, the band consists of 40 musicians, all National Guard members with civilian careers who meet one weekend a month to rehearse and perform. Its ranks are filled with professional musicians, educators, students, administrators, salesmen, builders and other professionals. The band has received many awards, including the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and the Pennsylvania Governor’s Unit Citation.
“A lot of these guys have served in Iraq or Afghanistan,” Herr said. “The two I know, who came to look at the place, have both been in Iraq and Afghanistan twice.”
The concert is expected to be on the upper fields, near the high school’s gym.
“We met the advanced band person up there a couple of weeks ago,” O’Grady said. “They looked around at the setting and the decision was made, if they could put themselves up against the building, by the gym wall, that would create a sound background for them, so the music would go out toward the field.”
“It’s going to be a very lively concert, no doubt about it,” said Herr.
“Right before the fireworks begin, their last piece will be Stars and Stripes Forever, which is always a good one — that’s what the Boston Pops does,” he said.
“It’s going to be a very, very patriotic type thing.”
Glow bracelets! Eats!
There are several food vendors and a novelty vendor, according to Hayes.
“I have New England Novelty — they sell children’s novelties, hats, stuffed animals, light-up glow products,” she said.
The Winter Garden Ice Arena is expected to bring its Zamboni ice re-surfacing vehicle to make a promotional appearance at the high school field, Hayes said.
“They’ll give away Frisbees,” she added.
At least four food vendors lined up for the event:
Chez Lénard will be selling its famous hot dogs with a host of toppings and French names (the French were with us in the Revolution, remember), as well as chips and soda.
The Zawack Shack, Greg Zawacki’s vendor trailer that most days is parked off Route 7 across from the Days Inn, will be selling hamburgers, hot dogs and other lunch fare.
The Circusman ice cream truck will be there, selling sweet frozen treats.
Cucumber and Chamomile, nutrition therapist Meredith Mulhearn’s tea shop, is going to be selling iced tea.
People are, of course, welcome to bring their own picnics, but no cooking grills or alcoholic beverages are allowed.
There’ll be a disc jockey providing music on the lower field during the picnicking.
“Because we’re having the band, we only have one disc jockey on the lower field. That is a change,” O’Grady said. “In past years we’ve always had disc jockeys on the upper field and the lower field.”
Town tradition
The Fourth of July fireworks show is a tradition in town, and draws a good crowd to both the upper and lower fields at Ridgefield High School.
“One year — not last year, that wasn’t a typical year — we’d sold about 1,200 passes,” said O’Grady.
(Last year’s event was canceled due to weather, and delayed to the following weekend, which reduced turnout. This year, O’Grady said, the fireworks provider has promised that if Saturday is a rainout, they’ll do Ridgefield on Sunday as long as the weather’s clear. )
The cost — in the vicinity of $40,000 — is shared between the money the Family Fourth Committee and the sponsorship of Fairfield County Bank.
“The Family Fourth Committee, we’re a combination of town employees and just Ridgefield volunteer citizens,” said O’Grady.
“We pay for all the fire and police and all that stuff, too, which is really a substantial part of the cost,” he said.
“This year, because the American Legion is sponsoring the band that will be there, they’re going to feed them, and we’re going to pick up the tab on that.
“The bank contributes about $20,000, which is about half the cost,” O’Grady said.
The Family Fourth Committee’s share comes mostly for the sale of parking passes.
“Last year, because we had to do that delay thing, we took a little bit of hit, but usually it comes close to covering the balance,” O’Grady said.
“We have a little bit of money in the till, built up over the years, but it will become dissipated if we have another bad year.”
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