Jacob Cohn Photo
The ceremonial plunger is depressed. From left to right: Mayor John DeStefano, Kevin Burke of Wells Fargo and Jeff Zeitlin and Gail Franc of IKEA.
If you can see the monument atop East Rock from your house, you should be able to see fireworks on July 4.
Plans for New Haven’s fireworks show, scheduled to begin at 9:15 Monday evening, were announced by Mayor John DeStefano and representatives from corporate sponsors IKEA and Wells Fargo Bank at a Wednesday press conference at the summit of East Rock. The fireworks will be launched from a nearby site.
“The fireworks in New Haven are a time-honored tradition and opportunity for the community to come together to celebrate the birth of our nation,” DeStefano said.
Wednesday’s press conference ended with DeStefano, along with IKEA and Wells Fargo representatives, depressing a plunger, setting off four shells that exploded above East Rock’s summit. They offered a preview of the approximately 3,500 “items” which are expected to be fired off during the show.
The city plans to set up four viewing locations Monday evening in addition to the summit: Blake Field, the football stadium at Wilbur Cross High School, the College Woods interior and Rice Field. The summit of East Rock will be closed to vehicles, as will English and Farnum Drives. Those wishing to watch from the summit will be able to park in the main parking lot (for a fee). A shuttle service to the summit will be provided.
The buses will be running because walking to or from the summit at night can be dangerous and “we don’t want anyone to get hurt,” said Christy Hass, the city’s deputy director of parks and squares.
IKEA has been a sponsor of the event since 2009. The store began sponsoring the event as “a way to say ‘thank you’ to Greater New Haven for being so welcoming” since the store opened, said IKEA New Haven sales manager Jeff Zeitlin.
The fireworks show will also be sponsored by Wells Fargo, a newcomer to New Haven and to the fireworks show. Wells Fargo gained a presence in Connecticut with its 2008 purchase of Wachovia Bank; Wachovia banking locations in the state were converted to Wells Fargo banks in March.
“It’s important to give back to the community and strengthen the community,” said Kevin Burke, Wells Fargo’s regional vice president for Greater New York and Connecticut.
The fireworks will be provided by Hamden-based Pyro-FX, the only fireworks company based in Connecticut, according to president Phil Gauvin. The company has been providing fireworks for at least 15 years, since the fireworks were fired from New Haven Harbor. The show was moved to East Rock because of a greater capacity for viewers, Gauvin said.
While not providing details on what the show would contain, Gauvin said that viewers can expect “a lot of noise at the end.”