For the past several years, Clinton residents have been able to look forward to Summerfest, the annual, town-wide celebration at the end of summer that culminates in a fireworks display. With the scope of the event requiring many months of preparation, the COVID-19 pandemic is jeopardizing the 2020 version of the event.

The event, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 5, is put on by the Clinton Chamber of Commerce. Paul Orsini, the chamber’s executive director, said that the group had already started planning for the 2020 event.

“It’s a big event and takes a lot of planning,” said Orsini.

The chamber members had been outlining plans for this year and getting quotes for the equipment required, when the COVID-19 outbreak began to affect Connecticut.

“That all kind of came to a grinding halt,” said Orsini.

Since then, the focus of the chamber has been on gathering the latest information from Governor Ned Lamont and the federal government about plans to help small businesses.

“There has been zero activity and we won’t look at it until we get word we can go back to business as usual,” said Orsini.

It costs roughly $50,000 to put on the Summerfest. Last year the event involved vendors, food trucks, and a beer and wine garden behind Town Hall, as well as events at a second location at the Town Beach during the afternoon. The fireworks were then launched from the beach shortly after 9 p.m.

The chamber relies largely upon donations to pay the $50,000, but with the virus stifling most local businesses, it remains to be seen how much money the chamber will be able to raise for the event. Fundraising for the event has not yet started.

Orsini said that, at this time, there is no drop-dead cancellation deadline set. However, he did leave open the possibility of a scaled-down event for 2020.

“When we get the go ahead, we’ll reevaluate at that point,” he said. “If we can do a celebration and that’s something that’s warranted, we can do just the fireworks or if there’s enough time we can do the whole event.”

Supporting Members and Nonmembers

In lieu of planning for the event, the chamber is concentrated on providing the most update information and resources to its members. As part of that effort, Orsini said the chamber is offering its help to all businesses in Clinton, regardless of whether that business is a member of the chamber.

The chamber is able to provide updates on available grants and loans for small businesses. Orsini said he has had conference calls with the offices of Connecticut’s U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy.

“We’re all feeling this. We’ll help anyone who needs it,” said Orsini.

More information about the chamber, call 860-669-3889.