Vernon’s July In the Sky is On for Wednesday
Patriotic Parade, Food Vendors, Live Music by the Reminisants and Entertainment Ahead of Spectacular Fireworks Show
(VERNON, Connecticut) – Vernon’s premier summer event, July in the Sky, rescheduled to Wednesday, July 7th, will feature a massive 75th Anniversary fireworks display and live music at Henry Park.
Town leaders have been meeting with a consulting meteorologist, who provided a hyper-local weather forecast for Wednesday and recommended going forward with the event.
Family-friendly activities, music and other entertainment begins at 6:00 p.m. The fireworks show will feature more than 1,500 shells and begins about 9:30 p.m. It will be launched from Fox Hill Tower and be visible from Henry Park and downtown Rockville.
The Reminisants, an oldies cover band from the Boston area, will perform at Henry Park. Local fans of the Reminisants are sponsoring the band’s performance.
The events at Henry Park are organized by the Vernon Parks and Recreation Department and the downtown Rockville activities are organized in partnership with the Rockville Community Alliance. Severe thunderstorms and extreme heat forced the postponement of July in the Sky to the July 7th rain date.
“The pandemic forced us to cancel July in the Sky last year, but we’re coming back strong,” Vernon Mayor Dan Champagne said. “July in the Sky is a great event that people from all over look forward to. And there’s no better way to kick off the celebration of Independence Day.”
Independence Day invites all people in America to come together and celebrate the birth of our nation and the ideals contained in the Declaration of Independence, the foundation on which this great country was built.
Henry Park will close at 3:00 p.m. so that food vendors and others can move in and set up. The park reopens for the event at 6:00 p.m. There is a fee of $5 per car and $1 per walker to enter the park. There is no charge to enjoy the fireworks from downtown Rockville.
In downtown Rockville, East Main Street from Elm to Court streets, Park Place, St. Bernard’s Terrace and portions of Park and Elm streets will close at 6:00 p.m. so that people can safely view the fireworks from Central Park or the street.
You can also get a FREE COVID-19 vaccination at July in the Sky. Vaccination clinics will be available on the tennis courts at Henry Park and in front of Vernon Town Hall in downtown Rockville. Vernon firefighters will provide FREE Hands Only CPR training in both locations.
The Reminisants will perform from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Henry Park. A DJ will play dance music in Rockville.
There will also be inflatables and other activities for children and families in Henry Park and downtown Rockville. Activities are an extra fee in the park and in Rockville. Activities in downtown Rockville also include Big Jim’s Foam Machine, which fills the air and area with bubbles, and face painting.
In addition to Rockville’s restaurants, food vendors will set up booths to serve fried dough, ice cream, Italian ice, kettle corn and tacos. There will also be booths set up by local businesses and crafters.
In downtown Rockville, a pre-fireworks highlight will be the Push, Pull and Pedal Patriotic Parade, where anyone can decorate a bicycle, wagon, stroller, tricycle, skateboard or other non-powered vehicle and then participate. Free decorations will be available for people to dress up their vehicle before the parade steps off at 7:30 p.m. from the Ladd & Hall parking lot. Participants will gather about 6:45 p.m. for judging.
No pets, alcohol, bicycles, skateboards, fireworks or sparklers are permitted in Henry Park. The same goes for downtown Rockville, except for when bicycles and other non-powered vehicles are welcome to join the “Push, Pull and Pedal Patriotic Parade.”
“It really is about community, seeing friends and neighbors, seeing kids’ happy faces, and enjoying a traditional Fourth of July celebration,” said Tom DiDio of the Rockville Community Alliance.