Collaborative Fourth of July Talks With Wilmington Fizzle

Tewksbury and Wilmington officials briefly discussed the possibility of holding a combined Fourth of July celebration this year, but the talks fizzled out before they got very far.

Selectman David Gay said he and fellow Tewksbury officials were interested in the combined celebration, which could have been held at Livingston Park.

Wilmington normally holds a massive week-long event on its Town Common that culminates with two separate fireworks displays. However, with construction of the new Wilmington High School underway, planners have opted not to host the annual events in 2014.

Tewksbury's Celebrations Committee met with Wilmington Assistant Town Manager Amaral recently, and each side shared ideas for how the two-town event could work.

Possibilities included fireworks, activities in each town, and potentially friendly competitions between Wilmington and Tewksbury residents.

But Gay said Tewksbury received an email from Wilmington that said they were unable to go any further with the planning as they iron out whether their town will be able to salvage any part of its normal festivities.

"We were very interested in doing something with Wilmington," said Gay. "They were looking for a place and having some difficulties finding somewhere to hold their fireworks display. We're still very interested, but the answer we received was that there was an internal issue they have to work through. We thought this was out of the box thinking, but the timing just wasn't right."

Wilmington Town Manager Jeff Hull said the town is forming a committee to consider ways Wilmington can host some events to continue its long running tradition.

"Although I tremendously appreciate the offer (by Tewksbury) to do something collaborative, at this point given the situation it wasn't feasible," said Hull. "So we extended our appreciation, but indicated that at least for now we'd like to pursue other options."