In Absence of Carnival, Attendance Drops at Fun on the Fourth

In light of several changes to Wilmington's annual Fun on the Fourth festivities, attendance at this year's celebration was down compared to past years. 

Fun on the Fourth Organizer Scott Garrant said that while all of the festivities went off as planned, turnout was not as high as he has come to expect in the 16 years he has been involved with planning the event. 

"All of our plans came together well which is a testament to everyone who donated their time," Garrant said. "We did see attendance was down on the nights without fireworks."

Community non-profits who had booths set up to sell concessions did not receive as much business this year as in the past, according to Garrant. 

The most prevalent change to Fun on the Fourth this year compared to in years past is the absence of carnival, a change that wasn't official until April. 

Garrant said he received feedback from residents several times throughout Fun on the Fourth regarding the absence of a carnival, ranging from "It feels different," to "Do what you can to bring it back."

"I've been doing this for 16 years now, and I've never seen such low attendance on nights when there were no fireworks," Garrant said. "I have to attribute it to the carnival."

Due to the construction of the new Wilmington High School, the permit to hold the carnival in the parking lot of the Fourth of July building was denied by the Board of Appeals due to concern from abutters about late hours, bright lights and loud noise.

In a previous interview with Wilmington Patch, Garrant said money from the carnival normally pays for the two nights of fireworks, the most expensive events at Fun on the Fourth. 

The absence of a carnival this year did not have a financial impact on the festivities, according to Garrant, but could in the future.

“For 2013 that has not impacted us,” said Garrant. “The last several years we were very conservative in our spending and are very fortunate to have the support of local businesses. Going forward remains very much up in the air.”

Garrant said there was much positive feedback concerning other changes to the Fun on the Fourth itinerary this year, including expanding the wiffle ball tournament, adding age brackets for wiffle ball as well as the addition of a pie eating contest and a freeze dance.

The cleanup resulting from the week's two fireworks shows went off without a hitch, according to Garrant, a concern after unexploded shells were found in Wilmington, Stoughton, Waltham and Ware following last year's Independence Day celebrations.

Tony Gentile, the man who has set off Wilmington’s massive fireworks show in recent years, had his own license suspended for six months for failing  to complete a thorough search.

Gentile is back to full licensure and was back in town on Saturday night to handle this year's show, required to do a sweep of the area as soon as the fireworks show finished, and again on Sunday morning.

Garrant said to his knowledge there was no issue with this year's cleanup.

After some much deserved rest, Garrant said the Fourth of July Committee will beginning to map out next year's Fourth of July celebrations in Wilmington. 

"Going forward we will have discussions amongst ourselves and with town officials about how to give the community the celebration they've become accustomed to," Garrant said. 

If you want to support Fun on the Fourth moving forward, you can still buy t-shirts at Fourth of July Headquarters on Wednesday nights for the remainder of the month of July. 

Did you go to Fun on the Fourth this year? How did you feel about the absence of a carnival? Let us know in the comments section below.