bizSearchOnset fireworks canceled, rescheduled for Sunday
The Onset-Wareham fireworks display was canceled on Saturday due to the threat of thunderstorms. The display will be held tomorrow, Sunday, July 8, at dusk.
Here is what you need to know about the events, traffic, and parking!
Rock 4 XMAS
The Rock 4 XMAS Foundation, founded by Wareham native Wayne Morrison and Stet Howland in 1996, will host the Cars, Guitars, and Motorcycles show at the Onset Band Shell from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday.
The concert is free of charge, with toys and nonperishable food donations accepted. The Rock 4 XMAS Foundation will round up the items and donate them to area families in need during the holiday season.
The event will feature a car and guitar show with acoustic folk rock by Gregg Harper from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. It will be followed by the Rock 4 XMAS concert featuring Joey Molland of Bad Finger, Stet Howland of WASP, Wayne Morrison and the Rock 4 XMAS All-Stars – Chris Ingraham, Steve Massa, Nick Testone, Kyle Ingraham, and Timothy Mckenna. The line-up has backed artists such as Eddie Money, Pat Travers, and Joey Molland.
For more information about Rock 4 XMAS, visit www.rock4xmas.com.
Onset-Wareham Fireworks
Celebrate America’s independence with the annual Onset-Wareham Fireworks display over Onset Beach and Onset Bay.
The Onset-Wareham Fireworks Committee has been working to raise the approximately $20,000 needed to put on the display since May… and organizers say this will be another breathtaking show!
The display begins at dusk. In the event of rain, the fireworks will be held at dusk on Sunday.
Traffic and parking
Wareham Police will be shutting down certain areas of Onset to prepare for the influx of people for the fireworks. Here's the lowdown.
- The Onset Pier will be closed at 6 p.m. and reserved for handicapped parking. Limited handicapped parking is also available in the designated area on the Onset Bluffs, in front of the Band Shell.
- Onset Center will be closed to through traffic at 7 p.m. Only residents with proper identification and/or handicapped access will be allowed inside the Onset center area.
- Onset center will be closed to all vehicular traffic at 8 p.m., including vehicles seeking handicapped access.
"Every effort will be made to cause minimal inconvenience to residents of the area while traffic safety measures are conducted," Wareham Police officials wrote in a statement. "Chief Richard Stanley’s goal is for everyone to enjoy a safe and happy fireworks event."
Stanley reminded the community in the statement that public drinking is not allowed anywhere in the Town of Wareham and "will not be tolerated."
Additionally, it is illegal for private citizens to possess or sell fireworks in Massachusetts, or to purchase them elsewhere and transport them into the state, police said.
Police said that any fireworks possessed by private citizens will be confiscated and individuals will be charged accordingly.
one of my favorite past times in Onset was after the fireworks- watching all the poor souls trying to leave while we had a gathering of friends at our place. We were lucky that way.
who is the genius that postponed the fire works??? it is absolutely beautiful right now. i know there was a chance of thunderstorms but there is a chance for thunderstorms almost every day during july and august.
I guess the genius, forgot that everything typically dissipates when it hits the sea breeze on the cape. Maybe they should take a meteorology course before calling off an event 5 hours early with a 30% chance of thunderstorms. Maybe if it were over 60% I would reschedule but c'mon 30%. I planned for weeks a huge BBQ for this event. I'm sure this is going to draw a large crowd on a Sunday night when everyone has to work Monday. It will probably be just the normal homeless people and Wareham druggies attending the fireworks since they don't have anything to wakeup for Monday. I can't even walk 2 blocks from my house in Onset without finding used hypodermic needles laying in the street. This is definitely the place everyone should let their kids runaround barefoot. Maybe instead of paying 20K on fireworks they could cleanup this dump.
Typical complaining. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. If it was all cloudy and rainy, we would have been reading about how they should have cancelled them until tonight.
People would of rather sat in rain and watched fireworks after driving from Boston, Providence, New Hampshire, and Maine. Do you think they are coming back for fireworks now?
It was a collaborated effort to postpone on the part of the fireworks company and the Wareham Fire Department. The decision was made in light of recent fireworks catastrophes as well as the forecast. Whereas neither has control over nature it is basically a play it by ear/eye decision that in this case was incorrect. As for "5 hours early" that is totally inaccurate. The signs on the pier were changed at approximately 12:15 pm. The newspapers and radio stations began broadcasting the postponement at approximately 12:20 pm. The Wareham Police and Fire Departments began accepting calls giving postponement information at approximately 12:10 pm. This is well over 8 hours of notification unlike New Bedford who didn't offer postponement information until after 6:00 pm on the 4th.
Personally I don't really care about what people from "Boston, Providence, New Hampshire, and Maine" think about our fireworks cancellation. If they are here on vacation, they will be around tonight. If they come just for the fireworks then they are just plain silly. These are the Onset/Wareham fireworks and although I understand the importance of people coming from other areas to our town, I am happy that they made the decision to postpone despite the weather turning out to be just fine. If it hadn't (and it WAS looking to be bad) I would have been disappointed for sure.