4th of July

Do they announce/post it anywhere or do people just have to guess (or show up to find out)?

Vic announced at Tuesday's TC meeting that the town would send out an e-mail blast ("Breaking News" I would guess) but did not specify when in the day this would be done or for which activities. I would expect that the information would be available on the facebook page for the event before it is posted elsewhere. We are supplying the marching flags for the 8:00 am parade, so I would hope someone would keep us in the loop.

max_weisenfeld said:

Joan, could you or someone post the address for donations? We will not be able to go this year but like to support the event. It is pretty special, and a valued part of our kids' memories of growing up here.

www.maple4th.com

South Orange just announced that they are moving their 4th of July activities to Saturday, July 5. Are the Maplewood fireworks still on for tomorrow?

madhatter0 said:

South Orange just announced that they are moving their 4th of July activities to Saturday, July 5. Are the Maplewood fireworks still on for tomorrow?

Bump.
I second that question. Maybe it will be a "game time" decision.

joestrupp said:

http://joestrupp.blogspot.com/2014/07/dont-be-fireworks-thief-they-are-not.html

OMG...calling someone a thief for watching from somewhere other than the paid area is a bit harsh. How much do I owe if I can't help seeing them from my house?

I was about to lament the lack of an easy way to give some money to support our having watched from outside the barrier last year...I'd throw in a contribution if there were an online link (but am unlikely to mail a check).

But calling me a thief just gets my hackles up and makes it less likely that I'll give. There is a freaking serious difference between asking me to support an expensive volunteer civic endeavor and calling me a thief.

Makes me almost hope for rain, so that I don't have to take the family and either pay $50 bucks for 20-30 minutes of explosions, or have some of my fellow citizens think of me as a "thief" for sitting elsewhere (whether I've given a side donation or not).

Does Joe Strupp speak for the Committee, or is he just being an unofficial "help"?

He's just trying to increase traffic to his blog. He keeps posting links despite numerous warnings that he at least needs to include a summary of the "article". He should really take out an ad.

"How much do I owe if I can't help seeing them from my house?"

LOL! I'd like to think my taxes cover them!

Actually, you don't necessarily have to buy tickets to watch the fireworks. Someone please explain this to OP.

joestrupp said:

http://joestrupp.blogspot.com/2014/07/dont-be-fireworks-thief-they-are-not.html

So if I watch from my front lawn, in a house I pay XX Thousand in tax dollars per year, I am "stealing"?

deborahg said:

"How much do I owe if I can't help seeing them from my house?"

LOL! I'd like to think my taxes cover them!

Actually, my understanding is that the only taxpayer-supported funds involved with the 4th of July celebration are for the extra police/fire/emt personnel. The costs for the fireworks, circus and other events are covered via donations and tag sales.

You are not stealing and Joe does not speak for anyone but Joe.

Disclaimer: I do not speak for the 4th of July Committee either though I have volunteered with the event for many years in a variety of different capacities. Here is my personal take on the situation.

It is a personal decision whether one chooses not to attend the 4th of July festivities at all, to purchase a tag and then attend their choice of the day's events, or to participate in the "free" activities without purchasing a tag.

There are places in town where one can view some or all of the aerials without paying for admission to the fireworks viewing area, though they may be different from those places from which the aerials were visible in years past either because of changes in height of vegetation or because of the change in launch site. Nobody will challenge your right to do so, unless you are attempting to view from private property without permission or from a road through which traffic is flowing.

The fireworks, circus, and other activities held by the 4th of July Committee are paid for entirely through tag sales. If the 4th of July Committee does not sell enough tags to cover their expenses, there will be no 4th of July celebration in Maplewood going forward unless some other entity steps forward to fund it. If you want to ensure that this celebration will continue to be held, purchasing tags, making a donation, volunteering to help out, and/or getting an organization to which you belong to sponsor one or more of the day's activities is the way to go.

Donations are welcome but not actively solicited. See my above post for mailing address and noo2wood's post about the possibility of electronic payment/donations at some time in the future.

EBennett said:

He's just trying to increase traffic to his blog. He keeps posting links despite numerous warnings that he at least needs to include a summary of the "article". He should really take out an ad.

Fine line there... given he is offering nothing of substance, can you really charge him for an ad?

Latest update on tomorrow's activities. Some activities have been moved indoors. Others are shown "as scheduled, weather permitting". "Weather permitting" is not defined. Still others are listed with possible delayed start times.

http://forum.southorangevillage.com/discussion/108483/4th-of-july-activities-update-july-3rd-400pm#Item_1

I have tried to buy ads and am denied, that said, I only link to elements that are part of the discussion and rarely.

joan_crystal said:

You are not stealing and Joe does not speak for anyone but Joe.

Disclaimer: I do not speak for the 4th of July Committee either though I have volunteered with the event for many years in a variety of different capacities. Here is my personal take on the situation.

It is a personal decision whether one chooses not to attend the 4th of July festivities at all, to purchase a tag and then attend their choice of the day's events, or to participate in the "free" activities without purchasing a tag.

There are places in town where one can view some or all of the aerials without paying for admission to the fireworks viewing area, though they may be different from those places from which the aerials were visible in years past either because of changes in height of vegetation or because of the change in launch site. Nobody will challenge your right to do so, unless you are attempting to view from private property without permission or from a road through which traffic is flowing.

The fireworks, circus, and other activities held by the 4th of July Committee are paid for entirely through tag sales. If the 4th of July Committee does not sell enough tags to cover their expenses, there will be no 4th of July celebration in Maplewood going forward unless some other entity steps forward to fund it. If you want to ensure that this celebration will continue to be held, purchasing tags, making a donation, volunteering to help out, and/or getting an organization to which you belong to sponsor one or more of the day's activities is the way to go.

Donations are welcome but not actively solicited. See my above post for mailing address and noo2wood's post about the possibility of electronic payment/donations at some time in the future.

Well said!

noo2wood said:

All info about tickets, events, participation can be found at http://www.maple4th.com

I'm not on the Committee, but I've been to a few meetings (for website, music, etc). The volunteers are very passionate and work very hard to put this thing together. It's no small (or cheap) underaking, and they do it for the love of the town for free.

So to me, the ticket prices are not a big deal considering you get a full day and night's enjoyment out of it for the family. Think of how much you spend on dinner in a restaurant, or a fork and screen movie, or even at Whole Foods for that matter.

As for online or credit card ticket sales, no time to pull that together this year. By next year, we should have Square Up or Paypal running on iPads, and on the website.

A+

And he can sing too.

pmartinezv: Just saw your post about advance tags only being available during office hours. That is simply not the case. The library, which is open several evenings during the week, sell tags. Local businesses such as the Park Wood sell tags and they are open evenings and weekends. You can also purchase the tags all day today at Memorial Park.

Thank you Joan for your thoughtful replies.

As someone who grew up in Maplewood and choose to return as an adult, I can say that 4th of July events were one of the special memories that added to the sense that this is the place I wanted to live (again).

I can only assume that those of you who didn't realize that this was an event organized by citizens rather than the township are more recent residents. Did you move here because you were starting a family? If so, I urge you to support this event (an all day series of events actually) with the rather reasonably priced tickets/tags- without your support, this won't last and you'll be cheating your family out of precious time together and memories that will last for a lifetime. In ten years you won't miss the money or remember what else you could have spent it on, but you will remember sitting on a blanket together and enjoying a pure slice of Americana.

Edited to fix a typo.

This will be me and my families first time attending. I'm working in the am and would like to come mid afternoon. Any ideas on parking? I'm imagining by mid afternoon I won't have much luck.

Cheating my family? Really?

Wow, you really didn't comprehend the spirit of my post. Yikes.

Oh, I think I did. Glad you have good memories, but it is judgmental,officious and inappropriate to suggest that others are "cheating their families" out of same if they don't purchase tickets to this event.

In the same line I said that without support that this event would not last and it would cheat families out of time together and memories. Sheesh, the message was that this event requires support from the community.

No softball today.

PS, you might "think" that you comprehended the spirit of my post, but as the person who wrote it, I KNOW that you didn't. You inferred a tone that I did not imply.

jeffl said:

No softball today.

That's fricking officious ...

We usually walk to the village on the 4th of July for the fireworks...its not really the parking situation it is trying to get home that stinks. We are not super close and it is a bit of a hike especially with the kids in tow but we tried the driving thing once and swore never again. The traffic and the pedestrian flow make it ridiculous.
We always buy tickets. If you can see the fireworks from your lawn then I think that's great...I'd hate to see our town abandon a wonderful tradition and if my yearly $60 for a family of 4 helps keep it going then I'm happy to pony it up.

eileenc said:

We usually walk to the village on the 4th of July for the fireworks...its not really the parking situation it is trying to get home that stinks. We are not super close and it is a bit of a hike especially with the kids in tow but we tried the driving thing once and swore never again. The traffic and the pedestrian flow make it ridiculous.
We always buy tickets. If you can see the fireworks from your lawn then I think that's great...I'd hate to see our town abandon a wonderful tradition and if my yearly $60 for a family of 4 helps keep it going then I'm happy to pony it up.

You are a gem! I always found that the walk home didn't seem as long at night as it did in the afternoon when I would walk home from the junior high.

I think she meant "cheating you families" in a non offensive way, unlike the guy who thinks we are "stealing" from the town if we happen to open our eyes at some point to tonight.