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The Stamford fireworks display in 2017. 

Fireworks launched from atop the Landmark Tower light up the sky in Stamford, Conn. Monday, July 5, 2021. The Fourth of July fireworks show, presented by the Stamford Downtown Special Services District, went on Monday night after being initially postponed due to inclement weather.

STAMFORD — The city is holding its Independence Day fireworks show on Friday July 1 at Cummings Beach.

Stamford hasn’t held a July fireworks display at the beach since 2019. For the past two years, the Stamford Downtown Special Services District has organized a show with fireworks launched from the top of the Landmark Building.

The city has set July 2 as the rain date for this year’s show, according to a release from Mayor Caroline Simmons’ office. The fireworks will start around 9 p.m. 

The forecast for Friday night in Stamford calls for cloudy skies and low temperatures around 70 degrees. There is a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service, but not until after 3 a.m. 

Stamford’s budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 includes $85,000 for fireworks.

“It’s such a source of pride for the city, I think, for our veterans, and it’s our show of patriotism and celebrating our nation’s birth,” Simmons told The Stamford Advocate in March, when she proposed her budget for the coming fiscal year. “But also I think it’s just a quality of life issue. People look forward to the fireworks every single year, and it’s the last thing we should be cutting.”

At the time, Simmons said she hoped the show would take place at Cummings Beach.

Sondra Ulloa and Oscar Aguero, both of Stamford, dance to music while playing with sparklers prior to a fireworks spectacular in this file photo from 2017. 

“We got feedback last year that it was hard to watch when they were over the (Landmark) Building,” she said. “I feel like the beach is a better setting for people to convene.”

Attendees may bring blankets and chairs to Cummings, and food trucks will be parked nearby, according to the city’s release.

Starting at 3 p.m. Friday, there will be no parking on Shippan Avenue from Wallace Street to Magee Avenue, according to the city's website. 

Also starting at 3 p.m., parking is banned on the left side of Iroquois Road, Wampanaw Avenue and Rippowam Road. Parking is also off limits stating at 3 p.m. on the south side of Myrtle Avenue from Elm Street to 162 Myrtle Ave. 

The Shippan Avenue-Magee Avenue intersection will be closed to southbound traffic starting at 8 p.m. Magee Avenue will be closed 30 minutes later, at 8:30 p.m.

At 9 p.m., Shippan Avenue will become one-way from Wallace Street north. Magee Avenue will also be open to only one-way traffic heading north starting at 9 p.m.

Fireworks light up the skies over Cummings Beach on Thursday, June 30, 2017 in Stamford, Conn.

The city is advising boaters that beginning at 3 p.m., there will be a 1,000-foot safety zone around the fireworks barge from buoy No. 6 to 1,000 feet from shore. 

Additionally, the West Beach boat ramp will close at 6:30 p.m.

Dr. Justin Cahill, interim chair of the Bridgeport Hospital emergency department, said his department typically sees a "surge" in patients in the days following the Independence Day holiday. 

Injuries from fireworks and car crashes are among the biggest reasons for that spike. 

Last year, 12 trauma centers from across Connecticut came together to combat impaired driving for the “Not One More” campaign. The campaign encourages Connecticut drivers to sign an online pledge that they will not drive if under the influence of alcohol or drugs. 

For information on when more Fourth of July fireworks are going off in the state, check out this list of Connecticut fireworks shows happening this summer.

Brianna Gurciullo covers local government and politics for the Stamford Advocate. A Meriden native, Brianna came to the Advocate after four years at POLITICO, where she wrote about federal transportation policy. She is always looking for a dog or cat to befriend when she is not working -- and sometimes when she is working, as evidenced by her photo.