By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
The city has decided to move the 2022 Savin Rock Fireworks Spectacular from July 2 to Labor Day weekend to give West Haven’s biggest event “more of a local flavor,” Mayor Nancy R. Rossi announced.
The fireworks, billed as “They Will Be Heard on the 3rd” and presented by the Savin Rock Fireworks Committee, will now launch off Bradley Point at 8 p.m. Sept. 3. The rain date is Sept. 5.
“I can’t wait to celebrate the Savin Rock Fireworks Spectacular with my fellow Westies on Sept. 3, the same date as last year’s display,” Rossi said. “This is a meaningful event for all of us who live in West Haven and is a special opportunity to come together as friends and neighbors to celebrate our hometown by demonstrating the best of the American community spirit.”
In a prepared statement, the fireworks committee, co-chaired by Sandy McCauley and Marianne Drapeau, said: “Due to recent concerns, the city has postponed the July 2 show to Sept. 3. We look forward to seeing you then.”
In addition to the fireworks, Rossi announced the return of the Savin Rock Festival on July 29-30 and the West Haven Summer Concert Series, starting in late June.
The festival, which debuted in 1982 in celebration of the bygone seaside amusement park, will take place in Old Grove Park. Details are forthcoming.
The free concert series will kick off on the Green from 7-9 p.m. June 23 and June 30 with classic rock hits by The Generators, sponsored by the West Haven Public Library, and oldies by Tony V. More concerts on the Green and in the Grove are forthcoming.
For this year’s pyrotechnics show, the city is focusing less on attracting out-of-town visitors and more on attracting West Haven residents, a strategy aimed at decreasing crowds to reduce overtime costs for police and public works crews, organizers said.
Before the fireworks light up the sky over the West Haven shoreline, a DJ will play music on a portable stage in front of Savin Rock from 6-8 p.m.
A fleet of food and dessert trucks will once again dish up eats and sweets on the north side of Captain Thomas Boulevard, from Dyke Street to Platt Court.
For the second straight year, police will close Captain Thomas Boulevard and Ocean Avenue, from Kelsey Avenue to Platt Court, for several hours to give the festivities more of a block party feel.