Thousands celebrate Historic Bristol Day, Harriman

Advance correspondent

BRISTOL BORrGH - A blast! A smash hit!

Such superlatives washed over the crowds at Saturday’s Historic Bristol Day, an annual event sponsored by the Bristol Cultural and Historical Foundation. It was the biggest Bristol Day celebration in 35 years, borough officials said.

Sun and blue sky watched over the thousands who walked around Lions Park, Radcliffe Street and, for the first time, the Harriman section of town. Harriman was built 90 years ago by Averill Harriman to house the workers in his newly built shipyard. Several Harriman homes were open for tours. Trolley tours and shuttle buses helped ferry visitors from one end of Bristol to the other, but there seemed to be very few parking spots throughout the one-squaremile.

Yardley’s Pat Higham grew up in Bristol. She waited 45 minutes for a trolley to take her around an area with very familiar to her.

Why did she endure the wait?

“For nostalgia reasons,” Higham said. “It’s fun to take the bus instead of driving. The streets are narrow and it’s very scenic. I like to hear the narration.”

Two new events were real crowd pleasers: the Children’s Corner and the sailboat regatta on the Delaware River.

The children’s activities at Bristol High School on Wilson Avenue included boat

Madison Chase, 9, of Moorestown, N.J., with her unique headgear.

Community togetherness at its finest. From left Sal Arena Jr., Penny Gesualdi and Denny Parr.

A boomerang demonstration had kids coming back for more.

Photographs by Cary Beavers Hannah Davenport, 6, of Bristol, enjoys a cake pop.

Andreas Quattrocchi, left, Bristol, meets a greyhound named Leonard.

Sharing a meal on Bristol Day is Ed Shirato from Bristol.

Jim Bell, a member of the Robert W. Bracken American Legion Cadets