Thousands witness spectacular fireworks display Etra Lake Park
By Doug Carman, Special Writer
EAST WINDSOR – The spirit of the red, white and blue covered the green field of Etra Lake Park Saturday evening as several thousand spectators filled the park.
People from East Windsor, Hightstown and neighboring communities came with picnic blankets, barbecue supplies and everything else from glowing light sabers to iPads to keep themselves entertained ahead of the fireworks display.
The small barbecue fires gave way to the light of glow sticks and candles as blankets covered most of the grass after the sun set in a partly cloudy sky.
Kathy Marrone, of East Windsor, said she and her friend Christine Massaro have come to Etra Park for the past six years and noticed it had drawn more people than before.
“More stuff, more things to buy… and it seems to be more people,” Ms. Marrone said. “It’s getting crowded.”
Organizers set up a bounce house and slide for the children through the early part of the festivities, while bands played through the evening.
The crowds expanded well outside of the park.
East Windsor resident Sunil Parikh camped along Milford Road in front of the Conair office, saying he and his family preferred the more relaxed atmosphere outside the park where they thought they wouldn’t compete with the traffic inside.
By 9 p.m., however, nearly a thousand people joined him on the street, nearly a mile away from the park entrance.
The crowds kept vendors scrambling and portable restrooms filled, with lines of 30 to 50 people fronting each trailer, each attraction and each set of four restrooms scattered around the edges of the field.
Millstone resident Gerry Melley and his friend’s son Vincent Cputo, 10, held a spot in line as Vincent waited to get an ice cream cookie sandwich. As long as the line was, Mr. Melley was happy to stick around.
“So far, so good,” he said. “Everyone’s friendly, as usual.”
Nancy Bond, the owner of Bondies Daughters Concessions, said she was seeing more people this year than previously attending the fireworks show, but she said this probably won’t translate to bigger profits for her. She blamed the economy.
“Looks like a lot more people are bringing in picnic items,” Ms. Bond said. “I can’t blame them.”
For more information, see Friday’s edition of the Windsor-Hights Herald.