It stopped raining long enough Saturday for Guilford to fit in its annual Community Picnic, an event that draws people from all over town and a few from out of town as well.
The crowd was not as big as years when the weather has been better, but that's to be expected, said Rick Maynard, director of the town's Parks, Recreation & Senior Services Department.
Maynard, First Selectman Joe Mazza and others decided to postpone the second part of the festivities, the fireworks, until Sunday at 9:25 p.m. at the fairgrounds on Lover's Lane. A community rock band is scheduled to start playing around 7:15 p.m. and there will be inflatables for the children to play on, food, and other entertainment.
Maynard and others said Saturday they did not want to take a chance with the fireworks, and that they were told by weather experts that they have a better chance, although no guarantee, of a decent evening on Sunday night.
Maynard said he and Mazza were concerned that, even if there was a break in the rain Friday night for the fireworks, that the ground would be soaking wet, and that there would be lots of mosquitos. "It's the biggest event we have all year, we want to get it right," he said.
Patty Haggerty, a Guilford resident and one of several parks and recreation workers there, agreed. "So many people were so generous with donations, we didn't want to have to set it up and then not have it go off," she said.
Both Haggerty and Maynard said they were pleased with the size of the crowd at the picnic, given the weather.
"This is not as big a crowd as we usually get, but it's a decent crowd," he said Saturday evening. "I'm pleased we got as many people as we did."
The 100-member Community Band played, to the delight of all in attendance. The band was formed around 2000 and has been playing at community events ever since.
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