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Community Corner

Crab Meadow the Place to Be for Fireworks

Big crowd turns out for the annual Asharoken fireworks display.

After early morning rain and clouds let up, the 4th of July  display went off without a hitch. Big crowds packed and before the start of the show at approximately 9:15 p.m.

The Brech and Loughlin families had packed up the kids, plenty of food, and of course, a large American flag and arrived at 4 p.m. to enjoy some quality beach time together. This was the first time both East Northport families had come to see the fireworks. But for 11-year-old Emma, this Fourth of July was especially memorable: she'd already gone tubing at Asharoken. What more could a kid ask for? "It was great!" she exclaimed.

Several feet across the beach, Frank from Smithtown and Robin from Northport were hanging out enjoying the sunset. They were also coming to see the fireworks for the first time.

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"We're happy to be here," Robin said from under the brim of a straw hat as they relaxed in beach chairs. "It's so nice out."

Frank agreed. "Very nice. Very relaxing."

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This was the second time the Kutchers of Dix Hills and the Potoks of Commack had come to see the fireworks. "We made a day of it," Morris Kutcher said. They arrived at 3 p.m. and had dinner at La Casa, then relaxed on the beach with some good books. (The old-fashioned kind, with pages.) So what were they reading?

Brenda Potok was enjoying Alice Laplante's Turn of Mind, while Andrea Kutcher and daughter Beth were engrossed in The Hunger Games series. "I thought I would have finished it by now," Andrea said with a smile, the book perched on her lap.

Meanwhile, over at the entrance, Dennis Ryan of the Huntington Public Safety department was keeping an eye on the traffic. "Last year it was mayhem down here," he said. "But we worked out a strategy. We've been planning this for the past two months." That strategy appeared to have paid off, at least at the Crab Meadow end of things; the parking lot was declared full at approximately 8 p.m. and closed while traffic on Waterside was diverted to avoid the long lines and near-impossibility of turning around at the beach. Ryan credited the hard work of Don McKay, Director of Parks and Recreation and Ken Lindall Director of Public Safety, for the orderly flow of traffic.

Traffic was not so quick to move, however, at the end of the night. After the fireworks display, which drew cheers and applause from the appreciative crowd, cars were still working their way along Waterside at 11 p.m.

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