Pepperell 250th Committee finalizes July 2 fireworks event with $35,000 Town Meeting ask

PEPPERELL -- April 29, 2026, Pepperell's 250th Anniversary Committee mapped out a free July 2 fireworks celebration targeting 7,000 to 10,000 attendees, with a $35,000 Town Meeting appropriation request to cover police, fire, and infrastructure costs. The committee settled on a vendor fee structure of $250 for commercial vendors and approximately $125 for nonprofits, aiming to collect $7,500 to $10,000 in fees so the town appropriation serves as a backstop rather than a primary funding source. Colonial reenactors will fire a cannon every hour on the hour beginning at 4 p.m., and a confirmed student will perform a Jimi Hendrix-style electric guitar national anthem paired with a reading of the Declaration of Independence, with a headliner band running until shortly before the 9 p.m. fireworks. The committee could not resolve whether Ipswich Ale can legally vend beer at a separate May 17 vintage baseball event, with the key legal question being whether the state's 500-foot school-proximity alcohol buffer runs from the building or from the edge of school-owned property.