Picnic, Declaration reading disrupted as heat shuffles Fourth of July plans
Organizers are adjusting some events marking the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Don’t pull out your picnic basket just yet.
With temperatures at or near 100 degrees as Acton’s Independence Day weekend kicks off, organizers are adjusting plans for some events marking the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Organizers cancelled Saturday’s 49th annual Picnic in the Park due to heat, Town Communications Manager Donna McIntosh confirmed.
The show will go on for the picnic’s musical acts — now at 51 Walden, said event organizer Maynard Forbes. Rockabye Beats takes the stage at noon with music for kids followed by bluegrass tunes by Southern Rail at 1 p.m. and the Acton Band at 3.
The National Park Service has postponed a Friday night reading of the Declaration of Independence at North Bridge that was to feature cannon and musket fire.
Among other weekend offerings still scheduled as of Thursday night:
- In honor of Independence Day, Acton Fife and Drum members visit The Old Manse at 11 a.m. Friday to perform music heard in New England throughout the Revolutionary War.
- A 10 a.m. Saturday reading of Frederick Douglass’ speech, “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July,” has been moved to Trinitarian Congregational Church from The Robbins House.
- A Declaration reading in the Buttrick Garden beside the North Bridge Visitor Center at 11:45 a.m. Saturday.
- The Acton Museum is offering free admission on Saturday.
- The Wayside will hold its opening day on Sunday with hourly tours from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., adjusting the schedule if it gets too hot.
- The state’s Walden Pond and the town-run White Pond beach are open daily.
An “extreme heat warning” from the National Weather Service remains in effect through Saturday.
Town officials designated libraries as cooling centers ahead of the heat wave. Libraries are closed for the holiday weekend, but residents can call the town’s Emergency Communications Center at (978) 318-3400 with cooling center questions. In a medical emergency, call 911.
The town warned that Thursday and Friday could be “peak energy demand” days. As residents crank up the air conditioning, officials are asking people to limit their electricity use during high-demand afternoon hours.
