They’ll be back: Clinton Chamber of Commerce has announced the fireworks have been planned for Aug. 25, 2018, when the town will see the return of the popular event that was canceled in 2017.

The Chamber asked the town if that date was acceptable back in July, and, upon learning it was, decided to schedule the fireworks for then. Chamber Executive Director Ken Hartley said the date is perfect because it is the weekend before Labor Day and when school starts.

“It’s kind of a last hurrah for summer,” Hartley said.

In years past, the fireworks were the culmination of the Chamber’s Summerfest event. That event included live music, games, and food during the day. Hartley said so far, the Chamber has only planned the fireworks. What other activities may occur that day are “up in the air,” according to Hartley. Hartley said the Chamber is currently putting committees together to help plan for the event and that “there are a lot of ideas floating around.”

After a successful two-year run, this year’s event, scheduled for Aug. 19, was called off in May due to a lack of manpower and funding. While some residents had expressed disappointment at the time of the cancellation, Hartley said that once the issues pertaining to the cancellations were explained, people began calling the Chamber asking how they could help ensure the 2018 event goes off without a hitch.

Hartley said the Chamber holds a meeting about the fireworks on the fourth Tuesday of every month at the Indian River Recreation Complex located at 201 Killingworth Turnpike. The next meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 26. Organizers are now looking for volunteers as well as monetary donations.

“Even if they can’t donate a lot of time or effort, people should come if they have ideas,” Hartley said. “We need ideas and people to carry them out.”

For more information, interested parties should call the Chamber of Commerce at 860-669-3889.