Fireworks are seen during a Bristol Fourth of July celebration. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)
The Bristol Fourth of July Committee has declined to reverse its decision to relocate the popular summer concert series that is a staple of the town’s well-known Independence Day festivities.
Now, the organizers who raised over $20,000 to see the concerts held at their usual haunt of Independence Park are hoping to change town laws to bring the concerts back next year and keep them there in future years. The sunset concerts are held in the two weeks leading up to the Bristol Fourth of July Parade.
The Feb. 27 meeting of the Fourth of July Committee brought no good news for the Save Bristol 4th group, whose members independently raised what they believed to be the necessary funding to keep the concerts in their usual downtown waterfront spot. The group planned to raise at least $17,000 to cover the security costs cited by Bristol Police Chief Kevin Lynch at a committee meeting last November.
But on Thursday, the committee told the group it could not accept the money.
“This outcome is especially frustrating since our repeated attempts to engage in discussion with Committee leadership in advance of the meeting were also rejected,” Save Bristol 4th organizer Allison Borges wrote in a post on Saturday to the group’s GoFundMe page.
“However, after our presentation the Chair of the Committee rejected our funds, without a vote, by reading a statement that the committee was not allowed to accept them because it does not pay for public safety…We even offered an alternative where the funds could be sent directly to the Town or the Police Department, and no response was given.”
The organizers said they are “actively exploring several other possible solutions,” but if those fail, the $20,705 raised will be returned to donors.
In the meantime, the group is hoping to return the concerts back to Independence Park in future years via town ordinance. The group submitted a petition to the town clerk last Friday that would make Independence Park the concerts’ permanent venue.
According to Bristol’s municipal code, organizers will need to collect 150 signatures over the next month before the signatures can be verified and submitted to the Town Council for a vote. If the initiative fails in the Town Council, petitioners can collect 1,000 more verified signatures to potentially have it sent to a town ballot in a future election.
The Committee, meanwhile, issued a Facebook post Thursday night after the meeting.
“Community members presented thoughtful statements that the committee will consider moving forward, but for this year safety is our main concern and when we can accommodate the growth we will put together a plan that is best for the community and the families that attend the concerts,” the post reads. “But for 2025 the concert series will be at Roger Williams University for the safety of all attendees.”
As of Monday afternoon, the post had 146 positive reactions and 99 “angry” ones. Page administrators locked comments on the post.
Committee Chair Camille Teixeira did not immediately respond to a request for further comment Monday.
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