Community Corner
Fireworks Light Up RVC Sunday Night
Annual village celebration focuses on music, showmanship.
It may have happened , but Rockville Centre residents came out in full force to take in the village’s annual fireworks display on Sunday night at Mill River’s Centennial Park.
The celebration, run by the Rockville Centre Guild for the Arts, commemorates the anniversary of the village’s incorporation. RVC will turn 119 years old on July 15.
The dazzling fireworks display acted as a grand finale to an evening filled with entertainment. , , and the South Shore Symphony guided the crowd through dusk and into darkness.
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“It’s a great opportunity for the community to get together and have a good time,” organizer Wayne Lipton said. “It’s a wholesome night for families.”
Local families certainly took advantage. The crowded field was filled with children of all ages wrapped up in outdoor games while they waited for the big show to begin.
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The symphony took over nearly an hour and a half before the sky fell black enough for fireworks. The group, which features members representing virtually every age group, played a mix of broadway medleys, movie hits and traditional orchestra fare.
The crowd was engaged through every note.
“For an orchestra, there’s nothing better than an appreciative audience,” Lipton, who is also the oresident and principal cellist in the Symphony, said.
In addition to organizing the event and playing his instrument, Lipton arranged the music that accompanied the high flying fireworks display. He put together an eclectic blend that included Billy Joel’s New York State of Mind, Katy Perry’s Fireworks and the famous 1812 overture.
“I worked with Donna Grucci (of Grucci Fireworks, the company that puts on the show), who is a wonderfully sweet lady who really loves classical music,” Lipton said. “But, she knew that the audience would like something a little more modern. I researched and listened to lots of fireworks concerts and picked out a few numbers that I thought would go with the program. I think people liked it. It was very entertaining.”
What may have begun as a frustrating, weather-watching Saturday turned into a Sunday worth the wait. The ground stayed dry and the only lights in the sky were red, white and blue (and some green).
“It’s really cool,” Organizer Mary Beth Kearns said. “We’re a little tiny town. We’ve only got 24,000 residents and our fireworks are pretty good.”
