November 21, 2019 by Carol Britton Meyer
If you and your family were disappointed that Hingham's traditional Fourth of July fireworks display and community celebration were canceled last summer, there's good news.
The Oct. 17 informational meeting hosted by the Hingham Lions Club -- which sponsors these annual events -- attracted nearly 20 people interested in serving on various committees, including fundraising, entertainment (to book bands, performers, clowns, etc.), beach BBQ, vendor, and communications.
The plan at a meeting scheduled for Monday, Dec. 9, is to assign volunteers and to appoint two co-chairs and a Lions Club member to each committee. The meeting will be held in the Hingham Public Lbrary's Whiton Room from 7 to 8:15 p.m.
This is the next step beyond the earlier meeting, at which participants learned about the challenges and successes the Lions Club has experienced in running these events for the past 25 years. "Everyone in the room at that time said they were there to help, and some offered to serve as committee chairmen," said Lions Club President Mark Casale. "Other members of the community who are willing to serve on committees are also welcome. The purpose of the December meeting is to make committee assignments. We need a solid core of volunteers to run these events."
The future of these 2020 and other Fourth of July celebrations moving forward depends on fillng all the committee seats, he said. "The Lions will continue to run these events for the next two years as long as the fundraising committee raises the necessary funds -- $45,000 annually -- with our assistance. We're all one team. The Lions Club is not dropping the ball, we just need help."
The goal, according to Casale, is to "raise enough money for a super show for 2020 with some left over for the next year's event so there's not a scramble to raise the funds.
"The Lions are looking for help and a progression that will allow this community celebration to remain a fun family tradition for future generations," he said.
Looking back, this past summer the Lions Club decided to postpone, albeit reluctantly, the fireworks and community gathering at Hingham Harbor until hopefully 2020.
"It is important to note that the Club’s finances are in good shape and the postponement is based simply on the inability to sustain the celebration without significant help beyond the Lions’ [limited] membership," Casale told the Hingham Anchor at that time. "We've been putting on the fireworks for 25 years [and have been happy to do it], but we can't continue this tradition without broader community support to make it sustainable."
The July Fourth fireworks and celebration are privately-funded. No taxpayer dollars are used to pay for them. At the time of the announcement, Casale expressed appreciation for Lions Club members, town departments, Hingham citizens, and local businesses who have supported these events in the past.
The idea now is to regroup to find a way to bring back the event in partnership with the Hingham community in a way that makes future celebrations sustainable -- including assistance from a broad base of volunteers willing to serve on the various committees.
For more information, contact Lions Vice President Janice Bosworth at jbosworth50@gmail.com.