Fireworks fest moving from Fourth to September

Health officials recommended 2-month postponement is safer during COVID

MIDDLETOWN — The city will present the annual fireworks festival this year over the Labor Day weekend as a more prudent course of action as the country continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead of holding the display during the Fourth of July holiday, the event will take place Sept. 4 along the banks of the Connecticut River at Harbor Park, and the front lawn of the municipal building at 245 deKoven Drive, according to a press release from the mayor’s office.

The rain date is Sept. 5. After careful consideration, and in consultation with public health officials, it was determined that delaying the show is warranted, the news release said.

“As much as I would love to host the fireworks in July, we decided to postpone the event until September so that everyone can enjoy the festivities in as safe a way as possible,” Mayor Ben Florsheim said. “I hope everyone enjoys a happy and safe Fourth of July, as well as a great spring and summer season, as we continue to work toward returning to all the things we love doing.

“I look forward to the September fireworks as a chance for the community to come together and celebrate, knowing that brighter days are ahead,” he said.

The festival is a familyfriendly event that has drawn large crowds to Middletown’s downtown over past years. It typically offers music, entertainment and numerous food vendors. All public health guidelines will be followed, so that everyone can enjoy a “safe and spectacular event,” the release said.

For information, go to middletownct.gov/fireworks or facebook.com/CityArtsOffice for updates on the festival. Details about this year’s event will follow as the date draws closer, the mayor said.

Contributed photo / David Bauer Middletown’s Fourth of July fireworks are seen in 2017 at Harbor Park.