Groton — The town’s Parks and Recreation Department on Wednesday announced that a pre-fireworks celebration at Fort Griswold is back on as scheduled.

The Fort Griswold Celebration on the Thames, which coincides with the July 9 fireworks display held as part of New London’s Sailfest and attracts about 10,000 people each year at the state park, had been canceled last week due to budget cuts.

The department would have saved $8,300 by not sponsoring the event.

But Groton Utilities offered to cover the cost of renting the park from the state, providing portable bathrooms, staffing the event and cleaning up afterward.

“We had originally reached out to the local business community a few weeks ago and we didn’t get a response at that point,” said Kate Bradley, program supervisor for marketing and special events at the Parks and Recreation Department.

“But I think after we made the announcement that the event was canceled, it really raised some alarms in the community. People were really upset about it, and I think word got around to GU and they’ve always been a supporter of us and in the past. They’ve supported the event and it’s important that it continue for the community,” she said.

Live entertainment will begin at 6 p.m. The concert is sponsored by Thames Valley Communications and STIHL.

Food will be available from local vendors.

"We are thrilled to be able to bring the event back to Fort Griswold for the community to enjoy," Mark Berry, director of Groton Parks and Recreation said in a prepared statement. "This is what we love to do and we are honored to have great partners who care about our events as much as we do."

Groton Utilities Spokesman Frank Winkler said the utility was pleased and proud to sponsor the event.

"Both locals and visitors have made Fort Griswold one of the most popular locations to watch the annual fireworks through the years," Winkler said in a news release. "The important point is that this greater Groton community tradition will continue without interruption for another year. We hope that a Groton Utilities and Town of Groton partnership might be the right answer to keeping this major yearly event a continuing part of this popular summer celebration."

A grass-roots effort at the community level also started after the announcement.

The City of Groton Freeman Facebook page began a fundraising campaign to try to collect money so the Jay Dempsey Band could play somewhere outside the fort on Thames Street.

The effort raised $850 in three days toward the $2,000 needed to cover a temporary stage, sound technician, sound system and lighting.

Dempsey said he took pledges but didn't collect money because he wanted to see what would happen with the event plans.

"Somebody offered us their front lawn (to play) and it happened to be his birthday, too," Dempsey said. 

The couple lives across from Garbo Lobster Co. Inc. on Thames Street, Dempsey said.

"It would have been fun, but we would have had to build a stage and if it happened to rain we would have had to deal with tarps," Dempsey said. 

He said the couple is pleased the event was moved back at the fort and the band offered to sing "Happy Birthday" for the man.

Melissa Cann learned about the fundraising effort on Facebook. She lives on Thames Street and has gone to the fireworks ever since she can remember. She is excited the celebration was reinstated.

“It’s a tradition in Groton. I grew up in Groton Town (and) ever since I’ve known, we would go down to Thames Street and celebrate the fireworks,” she said. “...Fort Griswold is like an example of our freedom as Americans. They fought the British there. So it kind of symbolizes independence,” she said.

The initial decision by the Parks and Recreation Department to cancel the celebration was caused by a major drop in revenues to the town.

Deep cuts had trickled down to many town department budgets.

The Parks and Recreation Department was among the hardest hit, with an 8.4 percent drop in funding — from $1.8 million to about $1.6 million.

d.straszheim@theday.com