Huntington’s fireworks on Saturday night, captured by Adam Sullivan Photography.
HUNTINGTON –The “Huntington Celebrates” fireworks went off Saturday night in the Gateway Regional High School fields as planned. Capt. John McVeigh of the Huntington Fire Association, who sponsored the event, said 600-800 area residents gathered to participate in the activities, listen to the band “Relentless,” and watch the first fireworks held in town in twelve years.
Capt. John McVeigh of the Huntington Fire Association as the event began. (Photo by Amy Porter)
The Huntington Fire Association successfully raised $7,000 over the last two years for the fireworks through boot drives, private donations and a bonfire held last November in Pettis Field, which drew 200 people and raised more than $1,000. Town residents also voted at the annual town meeting to transfer $10,000 from free cash for the celebration.
Huntington Celebrates also had a purpose, to say thank you to those who serve the town, whether police, fire, EMS, veterans or town volunteers. “It is these important people who make our community such a special place to live,” he said.
Huntington firefighter Josh Mollison was on call in the UTV. (Photo by Amy Porter)
The event was free, and opened to the public at 5 p.m., with the fireworks going off at 8 p.m. Along with the music, there were food vendors and merchandise for sale before the main event. Donations were also accepted toward next year’s fireworks.
One of the pre-firework activities was a Children’s Muster, a firemen’s obstacle course for children led by the Chesterfield Fire Association. Kids who participated got
firemen’s helmets, and ran an obstacle course which included dragging a fire hose and putting out a fake fire. The Chesterfield Fire Assoc. was also raffling off a $3,100 cruise trip, with 500 tickets available at $20 each. Money raised from the raffle, which will be drawn next July 4, will go to the association’s capital equipment budget.
Carter Graham of Easthampton with Chesterfield Fire Assoc. Capt. Alex Kassell after participating in the Children’s Muster. (Photo by Amy Porter)
“The evening was a tremendous success. All attendees loved the aerial display put on by Bill Willard and Central Maine Pyrotechnics. The band Relentless was incredible and both fireworks and band were some of the best people have seen from what I heard as people left,” said McVeigh.
Residents gather on the Gateway fields to watch the fireworks display. (Photo by Jacquelene McVeigh)
He also noted that Huntington Police Chief Robert Garriepy did “an incredible job handling the public safety logistics” for the event, which went off without incident.
“This was one of the largest events that the fire association has done in a while, and I was happy with their hard work. They truly are a great group of individuals. This was a great thing to bring back to our town. We look forward to doing this next year,” he added.
