By MIKE RUSSO
And in the end, some 1,400 shells had the sky to themselves, exploding in every color imaginable over the captivated Baldwin Park crowd.
"It was stunning," said Chamber of Commerce Co-President Ginny Foley as she congratulated fellow member Erik Mahler, the chairman of the Chamber's Fireworks Committee. "It looked like they were coming right at us."
Mahler, who wore a huge smile from the time the first shell exploded to about 20 minutes after the show ended, said he thought it was everything he envisioned it to be when he first proposed the idea to the Chamber a few years ago. "Without a doubt, I think it went off without a hitch," Mahler said. "The crowd was into it and everything, and it was just perfect."
But planning for the show was definitely not as pretty as the show itself, Chamber officials explained. Every step had to be approved in advance by various departments in the Town of Hempstead and Nassau County. In addition, the Chamber had to obtain permits to hold both the picnic and the fireworks, and secure its own insurance so the town could not be held liable in the event that something went wrong.
And while Doug Diana, the Chamber's co-president of the Summer Picnic, said that he and town officials generally know what one another expects when it comes to the annual picnic, which has been held for the past 15 years, he could not tell those officials with certainty how many people would turn up for the show, since Baldwin had never hosted one before. "I have no idea," Diana said at one of the four major meetings he attended regarding event planning.
The only realistic way to estimate the crowd while satisfying the town, Diana said, was to anticipate the highest group possible, nearly 2,000 people. "We planned for the ultimate capacity in the park," he said.
Town Councilman Anthony Santino, whose district includes Baldwin, said that town officials worked hard to ensure there was enough staff on hand to accommodate the large crowds that moved around the park for the different events held during the day. A big plus for the town, Santino said, was that it was able to hold one of its town concerts — a doo-wop performance by Randy and the Rainbows — on Saturday night, conveniently scheduled between the Summer Picnic and the fireworks show.
"I think it was a great idea," Santino said of incorporating the fireworks show with the other two portions of the event. "I think it was a fabulous day for Baldwin. The fireworks show was spectacular. My hat's off to the Chamber for putting it all together and getting the sponsors, and the town was happy to be a part of it, coordinating the concert."
Mahler, along with fellow Chamber member Doug Diana — co-chairman of the Summer Picnic — said they were either on their cell phones or on hand-held radios from the moment they got to the park at 10 a.m. to start setting up to the time the fireworks show began.
A few minutes after it ended, Diana and picnic co-chairman Ralph Rose reminisced about the first time they hosted the picnic 15 years ago. That day, Diana recalled, the two brought a household gas grill to cook for what they expected to be a small crowd. But the inaugural event was an instant success, and a line of people stretching some 50 yards across the picnic grounds waited patiently for Diana and Rose to cook burgers and hot dogs at a pace of less than a dozen at a time. "And now look at us," Diana said.
Last Sunday, Diana said, he was shopping at Waldbaum's with his wife, and people were coming up to him to express their appreciation for the great time they had had on Saturday. One resident in particular made among the most meaningful of comments. "One woman, whom I didn't even know, came up to me and said, 'Thank you. What a great day for Baldwin,’" Diana said. "And I stopped for a minute, and it kind of touched me. And I thought, That's why I do what I do. That's why we do what we do."
Comments about this story? MRusso@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
