by Anura Guruge
on July 2, 2024
Alton 4th of July Fireworks
are ALWAYS
on July 3rd.
That is the only tricky part to this. July 4th fireworks on July 3rd — in Alton. But, we in Alton are used to that. SMILE.
Wolfeboro has theirs on July 4th. So, that is easy enough.
Weather should not be an issue on either night. Enjoy.
by Anura Guruge
on July 3, 2022
Click images to ENLARGE.
It felt like it was the best fireworks in many years — better than last year. But, your memory plays tricks when it comes to fireworks. All said, it was satisfying — & that is what counts in the end.
Definitely MORE people than last year. That was palpable. But, it wasn’t packed & the traffic was light. I got my accustomed spot, on the bridge, dead in front of where the fireworks go off, at 8:55pm, without any problem. To be fair there wasn’t that many people on the bridge.
The weather was PERFECT. No rain, not even clouds. It was a spectacular evening. We really lucked out.
The fireworks started, BANG, at 9:20 (per schedule) & finished at 9:38. 18-minutes. 2 minutes shorter than last year.
We had more FOUNTAIN like displays & the crowd loved it. See images above.
But, for the fountain displays it was very much your typical Alton July 3rd firework show. We are used to it. We know what to expect. Nothing too spectacular, just an average, ‘low budget’ production. Also to be fair, Alton’s MAIN firework display is reserved for August for ‘Old Home Day‘.
It was the accustomed staccato, boom … pause … bang … pause … boom … pause, display culminating in short, climatic finale which this year was a tad shorter than usual. However, people loved it. It was much appreciated.
It was good. I am glad I went.
Thank YOU Alton (though, as a taxpayer, I did my bit to pay for it).
by Anura Guruge
on August 14, 2022
Click images to ENLARGE.
First & foremost, it has to noted that there was hardly anyone there for these Saturday, August 13, 2022, 9pm, fireworks. It was deserted. When the fireworks started there was at MOST 6 boats south of the bandstand. Usually that section of the bay is packed (& it was amusing that one BIG partyboat (i.e., pontoon) turned around & headed back under the bridge DURING the fireworks. Never seen that. I doubt if there were 500 people on shore for these fireworks. There was NO traffic. NO TRAFFIC whatsoever. The road that I park on (normally bumper-to-bumper) was empty. I was THE ONLY car parked! There was ONLY ONE police cruiser in total. Even he didn’t have much to do. I asked him why there wasn’t more people. He speculated that people might NOT have known! Strange. ‘Old Home Week’. That was fairly well publicized & known — & most folks know we have fireworks on the Saturday. Maybe they had forgotten over the COVID hiatus.
All said, the lack of crowds (& boats) was the biggest takeaway from this firework display. It was kind of weird. A firework display to a near empty ‘stand’. [By the way, I didn’t find out the name of the group that played on the docks prior to the fireworks — but, they were good. I might have gone earlier to hear more of them.]
I have a personal adage that ALL public firework displays are GOOD (by definition). Of course, there is levels of goodness & on that scale last night’s fireworks didn’t score that great. I am sorry to say that they were kind of lame. I might even venture to say flaccid & I do not say that lightly.
The fireworks lasted exactly 20 minutes. Spot on. Started sharp on time. 90% was just plain, common or garden starbursts fired sporadically — one could even say halfheartedly. The barge from which the fireworks are set off was also moored much further out in the way than usual. It is possible that they were concerned that hot debris might fall on the newly renovated bandstand. That the bursts were further away made them even less dramatic. All in all it was not great. Even the always much anticipated ‘grand finale‘ wasn’t that great. It was OK. Nothing to write home about.
After this year’s ‘July 4th’ Alton fireworks I said this:
Alas, that was not the case. Well, let’s hope we have better shows in Alton next Summer.
by Anura Guruge
on July 4, 2022
Click images to ENLARGE.
It was GOOD to have the fireworks back in Alton Bay on July 3. A definite sign that normalcy is coming back — or in the case of Alton, already well & truly back. I like fireworks — both setting them off myself & shows. I try not to miss any local firework shows. As far as I am concerned you need to see as MANY firework displays as you can during your life.
And given my fondness for fireworks, I stoutly maintain that there is NO such thing as a bad fireworks display. As far as I am concerned they are all ‘good’ per my definition.
Alton Bay, last night, was NOT as crowded as I had expected. To be honest it was only at about 1/2 capacity compared to past years when there had been much more folks, traffic & boats. But, there was a fair crowd & they were happy & content. It is possible that people did NOT realize that the fireworks were on last night. I, as you know, did my little bit to get the message out — though I probably should have done it earlier. Many people still not appreciate that Alton does their 4th fireworks on the 3rd. Alton lets (famous) Wolfeboro have the honors on the 4th (& YES, I plan to be there. (SMILE)).
Given that it wasn’t that crowded parking, at my usual spot, was a breeze. Hardly anybody else parked! As such I was 20 minutes early.
The show started at 9:20 (as stated) & finished around 9:40. Par for the course. Folks were happy.
It was back to normal. That meant that it was also your typical, Alton July 3rd firework show. Nothing too spectacular, just an average, ‘low budget’ production. But, we in Alton are used to it — & to be fair, Alton’s MAIN firework display is reserved for August for ‘Old Home Day’.
It was the accustomed staccato, boom … pause … bang … pause … boom … pause, display culminating in short, climatic finale. We all love that. Most of us wait for it. We know it is coming. Well it came & as ever it was decent. Worth waiting for. I enjoyed it.
Thank YOU Alton (though, as a tax payer, I did my bit to pay for it).
by Anura Guruge
on July 3, 2022
Last year, i.e., 2021, due to COVID etc., there was NO public fireworks in ‘Alton’ during the entire month of July.
NOT SO IN 2022.
There will be fireworks, at ‘Alton Bay’, on Sunday, July 3rd starting at 9:20pm.
July 3rd is the traditional day for Alton’s ‘4th of July’ firework display (‘over the Bay‘) so that they don’t have to compete with the show put on by neighboring Wolfeboro on the 4th.
So, the July 3rd fireworks are BACK in Alton.
Got that?
There will be fireworks, over the Bay, tonight.