One of the fun quirks of living at the end of an island around Independence Day is that you can usually catch a glimpse not only of nearby fireworks like those in Sag Harbor, at the Devon Yacht Club in Amagansett, or at Umbrella Beach in Montauk, but also those across the water in Greenport, Shelter Island, and even Connecticut and Rhode Island.
And with fireworks seemingly happening somewhere nearly every day of the coming week and into next weekend, it’s not unusual to see the finale of one and hear the great booms of another somewhere else.
Here on the South Fork, the Southampton Fresh Air Home’s American Picnic fund-raiser, complete with Grucci fireworks, kicks things off Friday on Meadow Lane. Tickets to the fund-raiser itself, which include dinner, entertainment, and the best seats in the proverbial house, start at $250 for guests 21 to 40 and $175 for children. The party runs from 7 to 10 p.m. For this popular show over Shinnecock Bay, parking is all along Meadow Lane in the village. The rain date is Sunday.
The North Sea Fire Department has pyrotechnics shows of its own after dark Friday and Sunday during its annual carnival, which began yesterday and runs through Sunday at the fire department fairgrounds on Noyac Road. Tonight and Saturday are bracelet nights, when for one price carnivalgoers can go on all the rides they want as many times as they want.
Then, on Saturday, the Devon Yacht Club puts on a display over Gardiner’s Bay at dusk for its members, but everyone knows that the show is as much community tradition as it is a club event. This one is best seen from the bay beaches extending from Barnes Landing to Promised Land, with prime viewing at Fresh Pond and Little Albert’s Landing, or from a boat, of course. In case of rain, the show will happen on Sunday.
Also on Saturday night, the Sag Harbor Yacht Club will sponsor fireworks over the harbor at about 9:30. If you’re not in a boat, the best spots for seeing these are Havens Beach, Marine Park, and Long Wharf.
The Montauk Chamber of Commerce’s Grucci fireworks display goes off over Umbrella Beach on Tuesday at dusk, with a rain date of Wednesday. Tickets are still available for the Stars Over Montauk Fireworks Cruise aboard the Viking Starship, also on Tuesday, or Wednesday in case of rain. Tickets cost $150 and can be bought by calling 631-668-2428.
Fireworks on Shelter Island are the following weekend, on Saturday, July 8, off Crescent Beach, with a rain date of July 9, at roughly 9:15 p.m. People line the full length of this beach on the northwest side of the island to take in the show.
The weekend after that, the Clamshell Foundation’s Great Bonac’s Fireworks Show over Three Mile Harbor is set for Saturday, July 15, with a rain date of July 16. These are watched from beaches and road ends all around Three Mile Harbor. The Grucci show is set to music, which will be simulcast on WLIW 88.3 FM.
Fireworks at Main Beach in East Hampton are scheduled for Aug. 19.
