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Burlington Vermont's Annual
4th of July Fireworks and Celebration

- By Andy Netzel --- Free Press Staff Writer

Two-year-old Benjamin Tate had never seen fireworks before, but he knew one thing: They were going to be loud.

"Did they start yet, Dad?" the South Burlington boy asked his smiling father.

"Not yet. It's got to get good and dark first," responded his father, Dave Tate.

When the annual Independence Day show began, Benjamin's hands slipped from his ears and his eyes remained fixed on the reds, whites, blues, greens and purples exploding above him.

"Wow! Look at the fire! Those things are really big," Benjamin said.

An estimated crowd of 80,000 swelled Burlington's waterfront, streets and parks to watch the blasts above Lake Champlain, Recreation Superintendent Maggie Leugers said. More people watched from the 600 boats rocking among the waves in the lake, she said.

In the hours before the fireworks, the crowd lining the lake ballooned.

Hotels were without extra beds, and flashing red "Garage full" signs sent cars circling around downtown.

Foot traffic on the boardwalk was just as intense. The wooden walkway was not for dawdlers, as the crowd moved swiftly by vendors peddling American flags at a buck apiece and those lying out on beach blankets awaiting the big show.

Donna Sheehan and Sam Barfitt, who traveled to Burlington from Ferrisburgh to see the fireworks, were perched on one of the swinging seats along the boardwalk. They had arrived at 4 p.m. to employ their squatters' rights.

"We've been taking turns going for food and such," she said. "I've seen a lot from the bench, though. There was a sailboat driving by earlier with a huge American flag. We saw the huge barge come." The crowd bounced among the events: The band Switch Back playing at the main stage, men flying through the air on a trampoline farther down the shore and kids swatting each other with foam mallets near the skate park.

Past the packed boardwalk hugging the lake, away from the concession stands and boisterous bands, hot dogs sizzled on propane grills, and the residents of Lakeview Terrace sipped on Labatt beer. The quiet street was in one of the neighborhoods that traditionally holds gatherings away from the hoopla on the waterfront.

Scattered along the short Old North End street, neighbors visited each other's backyard parties, many with Tupperware in hand.

Neil Valley, 23, was at a party outside his childhood home, now owned by his brother. He said you couldn't persuade him to trade the confines of Lakeview Terrace for the waterfront.

"My brother and I have lived here our whole life," he said. "There's always a parade on our street -- fife and drum, every year. You can't beat that atmosphere. Hundreds of people line our street. All are our neighbors or their friends."

None of the parties matched the din of the waterfront. Few even had radios. Conversations and laughter provided their background noise.