LEBANON — The city’s Fourth of July fireworks will return this year, albeit on Thursday, July 2.
Last year’s Independence Day fireworks were canceled due to budget cuts. This year, Novo Nordisk, a Denmark-based pharmaceutical company that has a location in West Lebanon, has donated $20,000 to the Lebanon Recreation, Arts and Parks Department to put on the display.
“This is an opportunity for us to give back to a community that has welcomed Novo Nordisk — and a Danish guy like me and my family — with open arms,” Kristian Touborg, site head at Novo Nordisk New Hampshire, wrote in an emailed statement.
“I’ve sincerely developed a real appreciation for the traditions and sense of community that make the Fourth of July so special. We’re honored to help bring our employees, families, neighbors and friends together to celebrate the freedom this historic milestone is all about.”
The fireworks marking the country’s 250th anniversary will be launched from Storrs Hill at about 9:15 p.m. and will be visible from Colburn Park. The display is usually about 20 minutes long and at least 3,000 people have gathered to watch them in the past, department director Paul Coats said in a Monday phone interview.
The department has had a long relationship with Novo Nordisk, Coats said. In the past, the company donated money to build warming huts at the temporary ice rinks set up at Pat Walsh Park each winter and has also contributed money to the Civic Memorial Park playground project.
The department reached out to the company about the fireworks display and, about a month ago, Coats got word that it would donate the $20,000.
“There’s fortunately some strong interest in being able to celebrate the nation’s 250th,” Coats said.
Lebanon’s fireworks show is expected to cost around $15,000 and the rest of Novo Nordisk’s donation will go toward a free community cookout that’s scheduled to take place from noon to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, July 4, at Colburn Park.
The cookout — in addition to a parade scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to noon around the park — are new events for the city this year. More information about the city’s Independence Day events can be found at lebanonnh.gov/1063/Independence-Day.
“We were making plans to have a parade and do some other traditional things in lieu of fireworks,” in case the department could not raise the money, Coats said. “It’s making our celebration that much richer.”
Last summer, Coats got in touch with East Montpelier, Vt.-based Northstar Fireworks and tentatively selected a date in case the department could figure out how to fund it. The department did not appeal to the greater public for donations and instead tried to find a corporate partner.
“We kind of held Thursday (July 2) as a loose placeholder in case we were successful,” Coats said in a Monday phone interview.
The date also works because it is the same day as the weekly farmers market and the department’s free Front Porch Concert Series kicks off that night, with The Rough and Tumble, and Flagship Romance performing at Colburn Park. The next day, Friday, July 3, is a federal holiday and the timing of the display could appeal to those who have the day off.
Pyrotecnico, a national company that has a location in Jaffrey, N.H., purchased the display fireworks portion of Northstar’s business about six months ago, said Sarah Bergeron, a project manager based at the company’s Jaffrey location.
Lebanon’s show will be one of about 250 the company puts on in New England during the 10-to-14-day period surrounding Independence Day. Most shows last about 20 minutes and the average budget is around $20,000.
“Budgets are generally a little bit higher just because they’re excited about celebrating the anniversary of their country,” Bergeron said in a Tuesday morning phone interview, adding that quite a few communities booked their 250th fireworks shows years in advance. “Everybody was really forward thinking about the 250th.”
The company is also designing displays that incorporate more red, white and blue pyrotechnics in honor of the anniversary of the country’s founding.
Coats is not sure if there will be a display in Lebanon next year and the department is exploring a number of options for future years.
“We’ll put it in the requested operating budget again and let the City Council decide if it’s important enough to keep,” Coats said. “It’s hard to say that we’ll be successful in finding a corporate partner for future years.”
