Tickets are going fast for the greatest party in town: the Independence Day fireworks.
They’re early this year: this Thursday (June 29). As always, Compo Beach is the place to be.
The event is sponsored — once again — by longtime Westport residents Melissa and Doug Bernstein. Their generosity allows Westport PAL to benefit from ticket sales — and run programs and offer scholarships impacting thousands of kids.
Tickets ($50 per car) can be bought at the Westport Police station (50 Jesup Road) and Parks & Recreation office (in Longshore Park), during business hours.
They’re first-come, first-served. And no one gets into Compo without one.
The greatest party in town. (Photo/David Squires)
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Yesterday’s s Great Duck Race was a huge success. Attendees — win or lose — had tons of fun. The Westport Sunrise Rotary Club put on another successful event. And the many non-profits that will benefit from the fundraiser will be thrilled.
But there were smaller moments to celebrate too. Here’s one.
Jo Luciano grew up in Westport. She now lives in Florida, but had a special reason to donate to the Duck fundraiser: Her father — Police Chief Sam Luciano — died suddenly in 1970. The Westport Rotary Club generously paid for her, and her sister Carol’s, college educations.
Jo had trouble making the online donation. She found the address for the Rotary Club — but it was “Westport Rotary,” not the “Sunrise Rotary” that puts on the event.
No problem. Leslie Roberts of Westport Rotary forwarded Jo’s email to the Sunrise club.
Problem solved! Jo bought 3 ducks.
But there’s also this Westport-is-really-just-a-small-town postscript: Sunrise Rotary past president Rick Jaffe told Jo: “I live on the other side of the train station from Luciano Park. I take my grandchildren there whenever they visit.”
That’s right: the small park in Saugatuck is named for Jo’s father, the late police chief.
It’s great that Jo still feels connected to Westport. And that Rick now feels a bit more connected to Luciano Park.
Here’sPolice another Great Duck Race story: At the end of a very busy day, Dave Hoffman of the Makin’ Waves food truck had one coconut shrimp left.
He knew Sunrise Rotarian Sheila Keenan loves it. So he walked it across the street, and presented it to an equally exhausted — but very grateful — Sheila.
Dave Hoffman, Sheila Keenan and the coconut shrimp. (Photo and hat tip/Richard Jaffe)
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Also last night: the Levitt Pavilion’s Michael Franti and Phillip Phillips show.
The sold-out event had everyone dancing.
Except one dog, who wished he was.
(Photo/Jo Shields Sherman)
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Meanwhile, this morning — at the ungodly hour of 4 a.m. — 21 teenagers and 6 adult leaders left Saugatuck Congregational Church, for their annual youth mission trip.
This year’s destination: Washington state. They’ll help with flood recovery, and work with families in need.
Previous mission trips have included Colorado, Arizona, Maine, Alabama, Puerto Rico, and Cuba.
Saugatuck Church youth group. (Photo/Mark Mathias)
Green’s Farms Congregational Church’s youth group left this weekend too, on their mission.
They’re headed to Tennessee.
Green’s Farms Church youth group.
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Check out the eyes on this “Westport … Naturally” Compo Beach cormorant!
Colorful, beautiful, piercing — and very, very fierce.
(Photo/Johanna Keyser Rossi)
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And finally … on this date in 1876, the 2-day Battle of the Little Bighorn began. It was an overwhelming victory for the combined Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes, and a humiliating defeat for the US Army’s 7th Cavalry. Five of their 12 companies were wiped out; General George Armstrong Custer was killed, along with 2 brothers, a nephew and a brother-in-law.
Last night at Levitt DID have everyone dancing, but to Michael Franti not Laurel Canyon. He was fabulous. Tonight is Laurel Canyon!
Yep – my bad. Apologies!
I’m surprised that nobody else has asked, so I finally will. Why are the fireworks celebrating Independence Day/Fourth of July on a Thursday this year when the Fourth is on a Tuesday? Every year they seem to get a little farther away from the holiday. At this rate, in a few years the fireworks can celebrate both Memorial Day and Independence Day on the same night.
I believe the issue has to do with barge rentals.
Also, Milford had their fireworks last night (June 24)!
If the issue is barge rentals, how do other communiiies manage to get the barges for July 3 or 4? This year, maybe it could even stretch to Friday so it feels like the start of a long weekend, but Thursday for a Tuesday holiday?! Crazy.
Greetings to Jo Luciano. We played sports together at Staples. I think she was a year behind me. What a great person and a great athlete. And we shared the love of golf also.
We were just talking about previous July 4 fireworks at Compo and our recollection from the early 80s and later) is that admission was free to residents. Good cause, but hasn’t it become another budget issue?
Never.. It is not a town function. Has always been done by the PAL (at least for my 60 plus years). It is their big fund raiser. Read paragraph three in the story above. A couple of the reasons why it’s not on the 4th proper or on a weekend is that they clear the beach at about 4pm. It takes a couple of hundred people ( WPD, WFD,EMS, Parks and Rec. and many PAL VOLUNTEERS) to pull this off.
Kicking residents off their beach. What a great cause!
General Custer. So appropriate.