Newport's 2016 Fireworks Set for July 4 over Newport Harbor

NEWPORT, RI—The City of Newport will set off its traditional fireworks display on Monday, July 4 over Newport Harbor, with a rain date of Tuesday, July 5.

The fireworks show begins after dusk, usually around 9:15 p.m.

The show lasts about 20 minutes and is visible across the Newport waterfront facing west but ideally viewed from a boat bobbing about in Newport Harbor.

Public restrooms will be open at King Park, the Harbormaster building at Perrotti Park and at the Mary Street Parking Lot until after the fireworks are completed.

Portable restrooms will be available at the Goat Island Causeway, Perrotti Park and King Park.

Weather related cancellations will be made no later than 6:00 p.m.

This year, the city is switching vendors. The City Council last week approved a $27,000 base contract with Pyrotecnico Fireworks of New Castle, PA, to put on the show, which promised more shells for each portion of the display and more shells per size for most size categories, according to a city memo.

The city will pay $27,000, $30,000 or $33,000 depending on the amount of donations the city gets to put on the show with each level offering more shells.

The only other bidder was Atlas Pyrovision, of Jaffrey, NH, which won the contract last year.

City Manager Joseph J. Nicholson Jr. said in the May 31 memo that rain date costs are higher for Pyrotecnico at 25 percent of the show cost compared to 10 percent with Atlas.

The city has overseen the fireworks display since 2006 after taking over from volunteer organizers.

Before 2012, the mayor's office handled the fundraising and the recreation department got all the necessary state and federal permits. After, the Fire Marshal assumed those duties, though fundraising "will continue to remain a function of the mayor's office," Nicholson said.

Newport Fire Department personnel will be onsite during fireworks setup and display.

Some Newporters have already gotten a taste of Pyrotecnico's work. The company ran the private fireworks display at Fort Adams State Park on June 11 for a fireworks display on the field adjacent to the Eisenhower House. The occasion? The wedding of the daughter of Dorrance "Dodo" Hamilton, heiress to the Campbell Soup empire.