Beverly Homecoming fireworks rescheduled for this Sunday

Paul Leighton, The Salem News, Beverly, Mass.
·2 min read

Aug. 9—BEVERLY — Beverly Homecoming is not over yet. Organizers of the annual festival have announced that the fireworks that were canceled last Sunday due to a sudden storm have been rescheduled for this Sunday, Aug. 14, at 8:30 p.m. at Lynch Park.

The fireworks are the final event of Homecoming and traditionally draw large crowds to Lynch Park and surrounding areas. The company that sets off the fireworks was getting ready to start the show on Sunday night when a thunderstorm with heavy winds hit the area. Beverly Homecoming President Medley Long said organizers were hoping to wait out the storm and proceed with the fireworks, but the wind blew off tarp covers that were protecting the fireworks on a barge in Mackerel Cove off Lynch Park and the show had to be called off.

Long said the Beverly Homecoming committee felt it was important to go on with the fireworks, so they quickly rescheduled for this coming Sunday.

"It's the marquee event for Homecoming and an important Beverly tradition," he said. "That's what we're raising all the money for throughout the year."

Long said the fireworks show costs $18,000. The Homecoming committee will have to pay an extra $2,500 for the company, Atlas Fireworks of Jaffrey, New Hampshire, to return this Sunday, he said. There will also be extra costs for police and fire details, he said.

Beverly Homecoming is a volunteer-run nonprofit organization that raises funds through donations, sponsorships and sales at the Lobster Festival, one of its biggest events. Long said 800 lobster rolls were sold at this year's Lobster Festival, 300 more than last year. Overall, he said Homecoming drew records amount of people, including more than 200 who toured the new Beverly police station.

"We had such a great week," Long said.

Over in Peabody, the sudden deluge Sunday doused that city's fireworks as well. The city called off the remainder of the concert with the Lisa Love Experience as well as the fireworks show afterward at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School, which was part of the city's summer concert series.

Mayor Ted Bettencourt said Tuesday that possible options are still being discussed to reschedule, likely to have the fireworks sometime this fall.

Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.