Rotary Club of the Abingtons to hold Fourth of July celebration at new location

The Rotary Club of the Abingtons hopes its fireworks display will go off with a bang at a new location.

For the first time in its 40-year run, the club’s Fourth of July Fireworks Celebration will be held at Hillside Park, a departure from the grounds of Abington Heights Middle School, where the event has been held since its inception.

Ongoing construction on the middle school grounds meant the club couldn’t hold the event there. District officials are building a 70,000-square-foot addition to the school in Newton Twp. that will include a new administrative suite, new classrooms and a new gymnasium. It is expected to be completed by fall 2027.

The project, which broke ground last year, presented challenges for last year’s fireworks event. Steve Selige, who chairs the club’s fireworks committee, said the club had to move the launch site for the fireworks, which reduced space for parking — including all disabled parking spaces — and vendors.

Bill Risse, a longtime member of the Abington Area Joint Recreation Board, which oversees Hillside Park, approached the club about holding the event at the park last year, knowing the middle school wouldn’t be available. The board and the club have been planning this year’s event since late last summer.

Selige said they chose the new site because the park’s mission aligns with that of the club. It also is a pristine location with ample space for parking, vendors and viewing the fireworks, he said, as well as space for children to play.

“It was an incredibly good opportunity that we needed at a really opportune time,” Selige said.

The event begins Friday, July 3, at 4 p.m., with more than 15 vendors, including food trucks, activities for children — including face painting and balloon animals — items like light swords for sale, and entertainment from the Rock 107 radio channel. Some of the vendors will be located under the pavilion near the lake, he said.

The fireworks will go off around 9:30. Skyshooter Displays of Wapwallopen will launch them from a wooded area behind the lake. Selige, who is also the club’s past president, said having fireworks reflect off the lake will make for a beautiful display.

Parking will be available in a field next to the community garden on Winola Road, while disabled parking will be offered in the park’s upper lot. It costs $10 per vehicle to park. South Abington Twp. police will have Grove Street closed to traffic between Elkview Drive and Winola Road during the event.

There will be an open house at the Hillside Park Community Center beginning at 8 p.m. the day of the event, Risse said.

The public can bring food, chairs and blankets to all areas of the park except the turf field. That field will be open for children to run around on, he said. There will also be a first-aid station.

Volunteers from the club, Hillside Park, the Interact Club at Abington Heights High School and the high school football team will be on hand to help during the event.

Information on the event can be found on the Rotary Club of the Abingtons, Rock 107 and Hillside Park Facebook pages.

Organizing the event has been a community effort, Selige said, and the club is grateful for volunteers from each of the communities in the Abington Heights School District for their help.

“It wouldn’t be possible without all of them,” he said.

Risse said the board is excited to welcome the club to the park but said the public should be patient as the club figures out the new location. He said having the display at Hillside Park shows how much it has grown and he hopes it will give more people a chance to see it.

“It introduces more families, more residents, more local businesses to the park and to the features and the amenities that are there,” Risse said. “For people that maybe have never had a reason to come out to the park, well, this gives them a reason.”

Selige said the middle school served the club well for the display but he hopes having it at Hillside Park will start a new tradition for the club. He said he looks forward to the event running smoothly and a big crowd — and even having a lobster roll.

“We really love the grounds of the park. We really vibe a lot with the board of the park and their mission. It’s very in line with what Rotary stands for and frankly, the park is set up in such a wonderful way to do an event like this,” he said. “I think it is going to be really wonderful.”