Update: 9:44 p.m. Wilson Weed of the Lambertville Chamber of Commerce said on Facebook: “At this time the Lambertville Chamber will be meeting with the appropriate parties to discuss the feasibility of the 2014 season. The Lambertville Chamber is committed to the 2014 Fireworks season and we will make a formal decision as a group once all the necessary conversations have taken place. We thank you for your patience. We will continue to work with the New Hope Chamber to find different ways to promote both our communities and chamber members.”
Newly-appointed New Hope Chamber of Commerce President Roger Green confirmed Thursday evening that his organization “does not want to continue participating” in the weekly Lambertville-New Hope Friday Night Fireworks show held during the summer months.
According to the Friday Night Fireworks page on Facebook, “Our main goal is to have ‘our’ Friday night the place to be throughout the summer to shop, wine, dine and stroll. Our mission is funded by mostly your local shops, restaurant and other businesses.” The displays did indeed appear to be popular with residents and visitors alike, who arrived in droves each Friday night during the summer months to view the short, but spectacular pyrotechnics.
Whether or not that weekly boost in visitors equated to additional sales at shops and restaurants is the subject of some debate in the business community. Some merchants said that the Friday night throngs largely fled town after each performance, while others argued that some vocal business owners were not properly leveraging the opportunity.
Said Green, “Our members have pretty consistently been unhappy with the fireworks event, and many felt they actually lost money due to shows. Also, several key volunteers wanted to take this year off or step down. Without a lot of support from merchants and volunteers, we decided it was best to take a year off, take a step back to see how it can work better, and possibly reconsider in 2015.”
Many candidates in last year’s New Hope Borough Council and mayoral elections advocated a scaled-down version of the event, perhaps holding fireworks displays on a monthly basis. Councilpersons Bill Scandone and Nick Gialias were actively involved in the event’s inception and operation.
Separately, Connie Gering stepped down from the Chamber presidency to devote her full attention to Borough Council.
Whether the Friday Night Fireworks helped New Hope businesses or not may never be known. They were, however, a good try, and will surely be missed by many.
What a bone-headed and myopic decision!
The fact that some merchants claim that sales don’t increase on friday nights (a claim I would seriously question) misses the point entirely. The fireworks (along with the Playhouse, the galleries, and shopping) are what make New Hope and L’ville special. THEY SUPPORT THE BRAND, and they synergize each other. And kust because it rained every Friday last year doesn’t mean that will happen again this year. This is such a shame…Wise up Mr. Green !!!
At this time the Lambertville Chamber will be meeting with the appropriate parties to discuss the feasibility of the 2014 season. The Lambertville Chamber is committed to the 2014 Fireworks season and we will make a formal decision as a group once all the necessary conversations have taken place. We thank you for your patience.
We will continue to work with the New Hope Chamber to find different ways to promote both our communities and chamber members.