Milton's Fourth of July an all day event

By NATHAN LAMB | Milton Independent Staff Writer
mireporter@mac.com

The Independence Day fireworks in Milton will begin at 9 p.m. on Saturday, July 4th—but the Milton Firefighter's Association has put together plenty of activities for earlier in the day as well.

Highlights include a parade, chicken barbeque, and a concert by the Milton Community Band, said association President Don Turner. He said the 13th annual Independence Day celebration will last much of the day and—hopefully—bring lots of people together.

“The goal is to get people in the community out and see people, and just enjoy the day,” he said.

The celebration will begin at 11 a.m., with a parade that will start at Milton Elementary School, follow Herrick Avenue to Barnum Street, turn onto Route 7 and then Middle Road, and end at the town offices.

A major theme of the parade is community, and Turner said he's hoping to see a wide variety of participants.

“I think it's a great showing of the community,” he said. “We get all ages, all organizations, we encourage anybody to participate.”

“It's a showcase of what's going on in Milton,” he added.

As usual, the parade will include a float competition and a patriotic bicycle-decorating contest for children aged 12 and under. Line-up starts at 10 a.m., and judging for the bicycle contest will take place immediately after the parade.

Kids participating in the contest are asked to simply show up for the line-up. All other parade participants are asked to contact firefighter Steve Burke ahead of time (355-0199) to make arrangements.

Turner also highly recommended calling ahead for the celebration's annual chicken barbeque at the Fire Station, saying there's a limited number of tickets and they sell out every year. The event will be catered by Wetherbee's of Colchester and tickets are $12 per person, with a special rate for families, said Turner.

The barbeque will begin at 6 p.m. with a DJ providing music from 5:30 on.

Festivities will move to the town recreation park from there, with a 7 p.m. concert from the Milton Community Band at the outdoor performance center, followed by the fireworks display. In both cases, residents are advised to bring their lawn chair and reminded that alcohol is not permitted on town property.

The day will also include a dunking booth to benefit the American Cancer Society and a fundraiser from the Boy Scouts as well. Other non-profit groups are invited to participate, but the Firefighter Association is requiring all vendors and fundraisers to secure permission beforehand.

The Milton Firefighter's Association is a non-profit organization that supports the Fire Department in a variety of ways, such as organizing its annual award banquet and contributing tuition for the cadet academy. It also contributes $3,000 toward the annual fireworks display, with the town covering the other half.

In the big picture, the association is one of many non-profits that have seen a downturn in corporate donations during the rough economy. While Turner didn't expect that impact this celebration, he said it could be an issue in 2010.

“I don't think it will affect the event this year, but if we don't have an increase in corporate donations, we may have scale back next year,” he said.

All events will be held rain or shine.