For the first time in many years, a parking space at or near Fruitlands won’t be required to enjoy Harvard’s annual concert and fireworks display. The Harvard Fourth of July Committee has arranged for shuttle buses to transport patrons from the Bromfield School to Fruitlands and back on the evening of July 3. Considering that Boston Magazine just named Harvard as one of the five best places outside Boston to celebrate Independence Day (www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/2019/06/24/fourth-of-july-celebrations-outside-boston), taking the shuttle may be a wise choice. Rain date is July 8.
Committee Chair Anne Hentz explained the reasoning behind the change in a recent email. “Every year we try to do something to make the event better,” she wrote. “We are hoping that people who do not want to park at Fruitlands, or those who arrive after the field parking is filled, will be able to park downtown at Bromfield or the library and take the bus up to the event.” Hentz added there will be no parking allowed on Prospect Hill Road.
Fireworks explode in front of the crowd at Fruitlands last year. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Pick-up will be at the Bromfield bus turnaround area at 14 Mass. Ave. Buses will leave every 20 minutes beginning at 5 p.m., and the last one heading to the fireworks will depart at 8:30 p.m. The shuttle will drop folks off at the Fruitlands main driveway entrance. At the end of the night, the buses (three buses from Dee Bus Service; each seats 55) will be waiting at the caretaker’s house with the red barn at 90 Prospect Hill Road to bring people back to the Harvard General Store. Hentz explained that HGS was chosen as the drop-off because otherwise buses could get stuck in traffic and wouldn’t be able to get back up to waiting riders at Fruitlands in a timely fashion. The last bus leaving Fruitlands for HGS will depart at 10 p.m. A tip from Hentz: “Don’t miss the bus!”
Shuttle bus prices are $10 per adult or unaccompanied teenager. This includes the price of admission to the concert and fireworks and round-trip fare on the bus. Children under age 18 ride free if accompanied by a parent. Kids ages 7 and up pay $5 on the shuttle to cover admission to the fireworks.
Parking at Fruitlands is $30 (no discounts offered). Walk-ins are $5 per person, kids under age 7 are free. Guests are welcome to bring a picnic to enjoy on the grounds of Fruitlands but there will also be food and drink for purchase, including hamburgers, sausages, fried dough, lemonade, slushies and ice cream. Beer and wine will be available for purchase under the Fruitlands tent.
Costs and rewards
Hentz explained that the two-day Independence Day celebration costs approximately $30,000, and the committee raises that money through parking, admission fees, and corporate sponsorships. The Fourth of July Committee also makes a monetary donation to the Lions Club and the Bromfield boys varsity soccer team for their assistance parking cars, as well as with Fruitlands setup and cleanup.
Hentz, who has been volunteering with the Fourth of July Committee for six years, praised her teams past and present for their hard work and dedication to making the Fourth of July festivities a success. Be it selling T-shirts on the weekends, organizing the antique cars in the parade (Pat Jennings has been doing this for 11 years), or running field events, none of it would be possible without volunteers. Many new volunteers have signed on to lend a hand in recent years, which makes Hentz confident this long-standing Harvard tradition will continue for years to come. “I am excited to know that all the work our past volunteers has done will continue,” she said.
Musical guests are all Harvard’s own. The party starts when the Rafters, a modern folk-pop duo, hits the stage at 5:30 p.m. Theresa Curran, recently featured in the film “Chappaquiddick,” will sing The Star-Spangled Banner. Ashley Jordan, 2017 and 2018 Boston Music Awards country artist of the year, will get you up on your feet, while Bare Hill Band closes out the show with its ’60s and ’70s-style rock. The Bare Hill Band will play for an additional 30 minutes after the fireworks show ends. Hentz said she hopes this will help offset the rush of cars leaving Fruitlands. “If you are not in a hurry, relax and enjoy the music while the first round of cars exit the event,” she wrote.
A slice of small town America
Alex Mykes (left) and Owen Fitzsimmons compete in last year’s pie-eating contest. (Photo by Tom Aciukewicz)
To all those ready for a heaping slice of small-town Americana, the Harvard parade and field events take place Thursday, July 4. There will be a decorated bike contest for children on the Common at 10 a.m. Please bring bikes already decorated. Prizes will be awarded, one being for most patriotic. If bike decorators need any more enticement to enter, there will be free ice cream for all participants. The annual parade kicks off at 11 a.m. at the corner of Depot and Ayer roads and ends in the field at the Harvard Public Library. Have your hands at the ready to catch candy being tossed from parade participants. And be sure to give a wave to the Press’ own Carlene Phillips, this year’s grand marshal. Following a flag-raising ceremony, the field events begin around 12:15 p.m. and run until 3 p.m. Events include a pie-eating contest, parent-child relay, egg toss and a greased-pole climb. Word on the street is the firefighters muster will take place again this year. It may involve water and the spraying of such. The Lions will be there as well, selling lunch fare and lemonade.
Budding Harvard Fourth of July Committee volunteers may contact volunteer coordinator Shannon Kinayman at shannon@harvard4thofjuly.com
