With snow bearing down on Morristown, the Fourth of July seems a long way off.
But plans are proceeding for a revamped Independence Day that will include festivities on the Morristown Green and fireworks afterward.
The fireworks–announced last year by Mayor Tim Dougherty–will be launched over Sunrise Lake at Lewis Morris Park, Leslie Bensley, executive director of the Morris County Tourism Bureau, said Wednesday at a bureau meeting.
And the annual reading of the Declaration of Independence will move from Washington’s Headquarters to the Green, said Justin Monetti of the National Park Service.
“We wanted to come to the people,” said Justin, referring to the Green’s central location. And there is an historical connection. George Washington spent some time on the Green during the war.
Colonial re-enactor Tom Winslow of the Park Service has recited the Declaration behind the Ford Mansion at Washington’s Headquarters for the last 21 summers.
The performance will become the centerpiece of the fifth annual Revolutionary Times Weekend, which the tourism bureau is moving from its usual April slot to the July 4th weekend.
Leslie Bensley said the patriotic holiday is a natural fit.
“What we’re trying to do is actually broaden and better support Revolutionary Times Weekend, and by moving the reading of the Declaration of Independence from Washington’s Headquarters to the Morristown Green it makes it more visible,” she said during the meeting at the Mayo Performing Arts Center.
“I think that’s important, because sometimes people are aware that Morristown is historic, but if they haven’t been to Washington’s headquarters or any other part of the national park, they don’t have a first-hand experience. Having it in the heart of our city, where it’s very visible, and where people can easily partake, I think that will help elevate the event.”
Morristown’s addition of fireworks will drive home the “sense of liberty and historic importance” that the town offers as a Revolutionary War destination, she added.
Morristown Councilwoman Rebecca Feldman agreed.
“I’ve always said Morristown should own the Fourth of July,” she said.
One popular element of Revolutionary Times Weekend won’t be moving to July, however.
An encampment of re-enactors at Jockey Hollow will remain in April, Justin said. That time frame is historically accurate–the Seventh Jersey Brigade probably would have been at Jockey Hollow in springtime during the Revolutionary War–and the re-enactors are committed to other encampments in the summer, Justin said.
This year’s encampment is scheduled for April 20 and 21.