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Chamber issues statement on the fizzled fireworks show

PETER BOODY FILE PHOTO | Art Williams, president of the Chamber of Commerce, some weeks ago talking about the upcoming fireworks show with the Town Board.

The Shelter Island Chamber of Commerce announced yesterday that it would not reschedule its fireworks show for this year. The show had to be postponed Saturday because of a technical problem and cancel Sunday because of the weather.

The following statement was issued on behalf of the Chamber at the direction of its president, Art Williams:

It is with great disappointment that our annual July Fireworks display will be cancelled.

Despite being 100 percent prepared for the fireworks to be launched on time on the evening of July 14, Bay Fireworks discovered that their remote connection was not operating properly while doing their standard testing. While they made many efforts to correct the equipment problem, they were unable to do so. At 9:30 p.m., the decision was made to cancel the display and reschedule for the 15th, our predetermined rain date. Unfortunately, the weather prevented the display on Sunday evening.

In regards to the many kind donations we received to support this event, there is an estimated $12,000 that was spent on expenses that are unfortunately not refundable. These expenses include the renting of the barge, the porta-potties, insurance and our advertising. Please be assured that any unused donations will be reserved for a future Fireworks display and will not be used for any other purpose.

We apologize for any inconvenience this unexpected turn of events has caused anyone. As always, we appreciate all of the efforts that the town, highway department, police, fire department, volunteers and donors made to ensure we were prepared for the event.

(Read this week’s July 19 Reporter for more details.)