One way or another, Blairstown was going to have fireworks July 3. The only question was whether they would be supplied by Mother Nature or the Rotary.
Mother Nature relented, and the thunderstorms that rolled through the area that afternoon and evening cleared out in time for the annual fireworks at North Warren High School.
Around 5 p.m., the Rotary Club, issued a statement saying, “It is our goal to hold the fireworks event this evening. We are watching the weather closely. As of now it appears as though it should clear up.”
And all was right in the pyrotechnic world.
Unlike fireworks in many other New Jersey locales, spectators at the Blairstown display don’t all gather in one specific location such as a football field or a park. And while many do watch the fireworks at their venue behind North Warren High School, hundreds, if not thousands, of people stake out spots in parking lots of businesses for a two-mile stretch of Route 94, as well as many other rural roads that surround the high school.
The New York City fireworks have nothing on Blairstown.
In fact, the festivities are so well-attended that when the time comes to go home, Blairstown briefly experiences something rarely seen the rest of the year: a traffic jam.
Joe brings decades of journalism experience to the Ridge View Echo, covering everything from local school boards to the U.S. Supreme Court. A former National Law Journal editor and Columbia Law School press officer, he now enjoys telling community stories in Blairstown, where he lives with his wife, Rose, and their two dachshunds.
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
