Fireworks to Crown the Festivities at Stony Point’s Annual Wayne Day Bazaar

BY CHERYL SLAVIN

For the first time in over a decade, fireworks will illuminate the skies above Stony Point this Friday night, courtesy of the Wayne Hose Company’s annual Wayne Day Bazaar. The bazaar, which will be set up behind Kirkbride Hall on Patriot Hills Drive, will also offer rides and games from Shamrock Shows and Amusements, as well as a cook tent, a new nightly banquet, and live entertainment each evening on the Town’s brand new portable sound stage.

The event will run nightly July 9 and 10 from 6 to 10 p.m., and July 11 and 12 from 6 to 11 p.m. The fireworks will take place “about 15 minutes after dark” on Friday night.

“This will be the first fireworks display in Stony Point since the County Bicentennial in 1998,” explains Joe Robinson, one of the event Chairmen. “Our vendor, Shamrock Shows, actually approached us with the idea, and we just ran with it.” The explosive entertainment will be staged by American Fireworks Display, LLC, of Oxford, NY; the cost has been completely covered by local business donations, as well as by a sizable donation from Shamrock itself, and a $1000 donation from the Town of Stony Point.

Last fall Wayne Hose circulated a survey to find out how revitalize and improve the fair. Their decision to return to Shamrock Shows after a 16 year break was one result of that communal input. They have also expanded their food offerings; in addition to the cook tent, which provides daily barbecue prepared and served by the firemen themselves, there will be a nightly dinner banquet offering.

Patrons can obtain value meal coupons from the fire company’s website. Fair-goers can also enjoy live musical entertainment including DJs and a local high school band, as well as take advantage of a pay-one-price option for the rides.

The Wayne Day Bazaar is an annual tradition stretching back at least as far as 1983, Robinson recalls. Admission and parking are always free; viewing this year’s fireworks is also free. And, in addition to being a wonderful summertime event that spans generations and builds community, the bazaar is a substantial fundraiser for Wayne Hose Company.

The proceeds raised by the bazaar comprise an important component of the fire company’s total annual budget, and enable the volunteer firemen to give back even more to the community. “That’s why,” Robinson says, “it means so much to us when the community comes out to support us and have a good time, too.”