There will be no fireworks or music at Fruitlands this coming Fourth of July holiday, but the in-town traditions of bicycle decorating, parade, and events are set to continue if enough volunteers step forward to help run them.
The decision to cancel Fruitlands fireworks was made by longtime Fourth of July Committee Chair Anne Hentz sometime in late February, but wasn’t made public until April 1 via a terse message posted on the committee’s Facebook page. “Harvard’s Fourth of July Committee has no plans to host fireworks in 2023 due to logistics and budgeting constraints,” it read.
“I thought it was an April Fools’ Day joke,” said Select Board member Erin McBee at the board’s April 4 meeting. It wasn’t until then that the cancellation became public, reported by Town Administrator Tim Bragan in his staff report. Fruitlands was presumably informed well before April 1, but the Press could not confirm the date.
In emails and interviews with the Press, Hentz said the decision was driven by money and logistics. Fruitlands, she said, had wanted a larger share of the revenue earned through the sale of parking and walk-in fees as well as greater involvement in planning the event.
“The decision to not go forward was about finances,” Hentz wrote in an email. “It became clear that [the event] was unsustainable when Fruitlands announced they wanted half of the profits for a not-for-profit event.”
An unwieldy money-maker
Last year, the town paid Fruitlands $5,000 for use of the property. But money wasn’t the only issue, Hentz said; the growing size of the event was getting to be too much for the three-person committee she has chaired for more than a decade.
People interviewed by the Press estimate that attendance on July 4, 2022, was between 5,000 and 8,000 people, many of whom were walk-ins, having parked along both sides of Prospect Hill Road from Depot Road to Still River Road and beyond, some as far as the former Still River post office building. Parking at Fruitlands was managed by volunteers from the Lions Club, but a large contingent of police was needed to manage traffic. Police Chief James Babu said all 12 of Harvard’s officers were on duty that night, drawing time-and-a-half overtime pay. Town records show that a detail from Lancaster was on duty as well and that the committee paid a total of $7,500 for Fourth of July police coverage, most for duty at Fruitlands. “It’s become more like a regional than a town event,” said Babu.
In his report to the Select Board, Bragan agreed. “It’s gotten way too big, and as it’s gotten bigger, it’s gotten more expensive,” he said. According to Hentz, the committee paid $15,000 for fireworks in 2022. Hentz says the committee would have spent the same amount this year, but that would have likely purchased fewer fireworks. Other expenses last year included portable toilets, lights, snow fencing, tents, supplies, and the bus that carried attendees between parking in town center and Fruitlands. The committee’s year-to-date expenditures this fiscal year, which began July 1, 2022, total $48,500, the majority spent on the Fruitlands event.
Over the past several years, fireworks at Fruitlands have become the self-funding committee’s major source of income. Last year’s parking and walk-in fees raised $55,431. That money not only pays for Fourth of July events, but also supports a number of organizations in town. The committee donated $2,500 to the Harvard Lions Club this year for its help parking cars, and donated another $1,400 to the Friends of Harvard Soccer for the work done by parents, players, and coaches to organize and staff the parade and events. Every fall the committee also provides lights for an “under the lights” September soccer match at Harvard Park.
Fruitlands director Michael Busack insisted in an email that the decision to cancel the event “was not a matter of a disagreement between the town and Fruitlands.” He wrote: “When we inquired about planning for this year, the Town let us know that they would not be having fireworks … and expressed that the size of the event has become a challenge in a number of ways and difficult to manage enough volunteer support.”
No one is happy about the cancellation, however. “Is there any way to fix this?” asked Select Board Chair Rich Maiore last Tuesday. “My concern is we’ve lost something that has become an annual tradition that is part of the fabric of our community.”
“There are a multitude of issues,” replied Bragan. Hentz had been trying to find a solution for months, he said. “[The committee] didn’t want to pull the fireworks.” There’s no simple fix that could put the event back on track, he said. Hentz will attend the board’s next meeting April 26 to explain the decision.
Volunteers needed
In a phone interview, Fourth of July Committee member Christopher Chalifoux said, “I don’t think it does anyone any good to start pointing fingers.” Instead, he and Hentz are focused on recruiting the volunteers they need to staff this year’s Fourth of July parade and associated events, including bicycle decorating and contests at the Bromfield School field.
Chalifoux and Hentz say that 20 to 25 volunteers willing to donate an hour or two of their time would provide the help they need. Anyone interested in learning more should email Hentz at anne@anne hentz.com.
Both Hentz and Chalifoux will also be at the General Store this Saturday, April 15, from 2 to 3 p.m. to discuss the volunteer roles they need to fill. “Look for the table with an American flag,” said Hentz. The committee needs planners as well as Fourth of July helpers. “We need you for as little as an hour or it can be as involved as you want.”
