Fireworks, funk and a Doobie Brothers tribute set for weekend

WEST HAVEN — The city’s “centennial fireworks” and a Doobie Brothers tribute concert are set as highlights for a weekend of festivities marking West Haven’s 100th anniversary, according to organizers.

The fireworks and concert, held by the West Haven Centennial Celebration Committee and the Savin Rock Fireworks Committee, “are part of a sixmonth series of free events commemorating the community’s 1921 birth and its incorporation by the General Assembly as Connecticut’s youngest municipality,” organizers said in a release.

Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, the centennial committee’s honorary chairwoman, said the fireworks, dubbed “They Will Be Heard on the 3rd,” will launch off Bradley Point at 8 p.m. Friday. The rain date is Saturday.

“This event is going to feel more like the Fourth of July than the end of summer,” Rossi said in the statement. “The centennial committee wanted a capstone celebration to close out an entire season of concerts. I hope everyone comes out to enjoy the fun and community spirit the committee has been generating.”

The display was moved from July 3 to Labor Day weekend to safely accommodate the many spectators expected, according to the city.

According to centennial committee Chairwoman Beth A. Sabo, the city’s commissioner of human resources, Gail

Hande will push a button to help launch the fireworks.

Sabo said Hande, of West Haven, was among dozens of supporters who purchased a

$10 centennial lawn sign and was entered into a raffle for a chance to push the button. Hande’s name was drawn in the raffle at the centennial concert Aug. 28, according to Sabo.

Police will close Captain Thomas Boulevard and Ocean Avenue, from Kelsey Avenue to South Street, at 5 p.m. Friday. The roads will reopen around 10 p.m., according to police and the city.

Police will strictly enforce all beach regulations, which are posted at each access point along the shoreline, as well as these restrictions:

All bags will be subject to search before entering the beach area.

No alcoholic beverages will be allowed on the beach.

No disorderly or obscene conduct will be tolerated.

No open fires or cooking will be allowed on the beach.

Before the fireworks, there will be funk and rock music played by the Kathy Thompson Band on a portable stage in front of Savin Rock from 6 to 8 p.m., according to the city.

Food trucks will be parked on the north side of Captain Thomas Boulevard, from Dyke Street to Platt Court, with a variety of foods and desserts for sale, according to the city.

On Sept. 5, the West Haven Centennial Concert Series will culminate in Old Grove Park at 7 p.m. with a two-hour show by the group What a Fool Believes, with “a Doobie Brothers experience.” The rain date is Sept. 9.

The show is co-sponsored by the West Haven Veterans Council and West Haven Vietnam Veterans.

For a list of centennial events, visit: www.cityofwest haven.com/343/Centennial -Events.