MONSON — The fireworks portion of Monson Summerfest has been pushed to July 13, following poor weather on the original date of June 22.
Board of Directors member Jo Sauriol announced the new date at the June 25 Select Board meeting after requesting an updated liquor license for the rescheduled event.
The event will take place at Quarry Hill Community School and include activities such as a beer garden, bounce houses and food trucks, which will all open at 5 p.m. and be available for most of the event, Board of Directors Chair Steve Slozak told Reminder Publishing.
While the fireworks display will begin at 9:30 p.m., Slozak emphasized that visitors should arrive as early as possible in order to ensure that they can find parking, noting that availability fills up very quickly.
Parking at Quarry Hill and Monson High School will open at 4 p.m. and require a $5 donation per vehicle, he said. All funds raised at the event will go towards supporting the event.
At the fireworks event, visitors can also enjoy live music with the Torie Jock Band performing from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and The James Paul Band performing from 8:30-11 p.m. as well as a “fabulous” magician show by Ed Popielarczyk, and, activity and food booths, Slozak said.
He estimated that 8-10,000 people would attend the fireworks event, stating that visitors will be only 210 feet away from the display.
The July 13 fireworks display is part of the 44th Summerfest celebration, which took place on July 4 and included a parade, craft booths, food trucks, live music, a pancake breakfast and a beer garden, Slozak stated.
Organizing Summerfest and the fireworks display is a “whole process” that takes about 9-10 months to complete, Slozak said. He emphasized that the committee was looking for more volunteers, stating that he “can’t emphasize it enough” and the event “wouldn’t happen without the people helping.”
Work on the events begins in September and runs until the event each year with the committee meeting once a month, he said. Slozak stated that the committee was “open to new ideas” and encouraged young people to join. As an example of the time that goes into the event, he explained that volunteers will be working from 8 a.m. until about 1 a.m. to set up, run and take down the fireworks event on July 13.
For more information about the Summerfest fireworks or to volunteer at the event, visit the Summerfest website at monsonsummerfestinc.com. Residents interested in joining the committee are welcome to call or email the committee through the contacts available on the website, Slozak said.
The rain date for the fireworks event is July 14, Sauriol said.
