Jon Jennings, Making the Announcement This Afternoon Under an  Umbrella Held by Tim Reardon.

Stage was Still Under Construction This Afternoon.

By Carol McCracken  (Post # 2,146)

This afternoon Jon Jennings, founder of the Fourth Spectacular, announced that the Fourth of July Stars and Stripes Spectacular scheduled for tomorrow evening on the Eastern Promenade has been postponed until Saturday, July 5th.  The reason for the postponement is the inclement weather predicted for tomorrow.

Jennings, a former assistant coach for the Boston Celtics,  made the announcement at the monument at the corner of Congress Street and the Eastern Promenade just as a downpour started – making the press conference shorter than planned.  Everyone ran for cover or the nearest umbrella!

Law year the Fourth was a “flawless” event according to Jennings.  The event featured Don McLean, who sang his classics “Vincent” and “American Pie,” which brought the audience to its feet several times.  Due to budget shortfalls, funds for the traditional fireworks show were cut from the budget in the spring of 2012.  Jon Jennings, stepped in and organized a group of local businessmen to come up with a plan to ensure that the fireworks would continue. Jennings is also one of the developers of Thompson’s Point and an assistant city manager in South Portland.

Work on the stage for the event began yesterday morning and was halted briefly during the thunder-storm.  Due to the large crowds and noise, organizers and urge that owners leave their pets at home.

The Founding Partners were recognized by the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce las year as leaders in the community and were honored with the Henri A. Benoit Award for Leadership in the Private Sector.

For more information, please visit www.july4thportland.org