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Hartford Prepares For Riverfest Fireworks Show Tonight

EAST HARTFORD – Over the course of more than three decades, Riverfest has only been postponed twice.  This year is one of those years, and it will also be...

EAST HARTFORD – Over the course of more than three decades, Riverfest has only been postponed twice.  This year is one of those years, and it will also be the first year the event has ever been held during the middle of the week.

The annual fireworks show was postponed from July 6, after heavy rain in June left boat ramps underwater and the Connecticut River too dangerous for a show.

Rescheduled for tonight, the Riverfest is now a fireworks-only event. Organizers say rescheduling the live music and food vendors would have cost tens of thousands of dollars, so a fireworks display was the only option.

“Finding a date when the police and fire and the sound company and the fireworks company were available to do this on such short notice, that was a big challenge, ” Riverfront Recapture Director of Program and Events, Charles Myers said.  “We’re feeling fortunate to still be able to do the fireworks alone because just an all out cancellation was certainly part of the evaluation process.”

Early Thursday morning, crews were busy filling three barges with 3,000 shells for the fireworks show.

The show starts at 9:30 p.m. and is expected to last 30 minutes.

Riverfest Recapture, which organizes the event, recommends parking in the Science Center Riverfront Garage or the Connecticut Convention Center Garage on Columbus Boulevard, the Constitution Plaza Garage on Constitution Plaza, or throughout the Town of East Hartford.

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