Generous donors fund fireworks

New sponsorship opportunities attracted more than 20 local companies, organizations and families who contributed $500 to $5,000 for the village's annual fireworks celebration, to be held in Centennial Park at Mill River on Saturday night.

Also new this year to the celebration, which commemorates the village's anniversary, is a marketplace that will feature local vendors selling food and other items.

"We achieved exactly the amount of money we needed," said RVC Conservancy treasurer Kathleen Murray, who oversaw funding for the event. "The marketplace is happening," she added.

Orlin & Cohen Orthopedic Group of Long Island — a multi-office group practice with three locations in Rockville Centre —- is the title sponsor of this year's event, having contributed $5,000.

The fireworks celebration will be presented by the RVC Conservancy, which, in addition to organizing the funding, arranged logistics for the event, which starts around 7:45 p.m. and ends with the sky show at dusk — around 9:15.

Residents of Rockville Centre and surrounding communities traditionally bring blankets and lawn chairs and enjoy food and drink along with the performances.

Sponsors who contributed $2,000 are also known as presenters of the celebration, which will feature musical selections from the South Shore Symphony, dancers from Leggz Ltd. and fireworks by the Grucci Family. This year's presenters include Molloy College, Francis X. Murray, Hatsis Laser Vision, Concierge Choice Physicians LLC and the Kearns family. Six other businesses and organizations — the Rockville Centre Chamber of Commerce, Rubenstein Shenker Zacarese & Marks LLP, ASA Services Inc./Mike and Helyn Jewell, Lexus of Rockville Centre, the Charles Cohn Foundation and Ed Quinn & Companies — contributed $1,000 to the celebration.

Mayor Mary Bossart, who, along with eight other sponsors, contributed $500, thanked the community and local businesses for their dedication to keeping the celebration alive after it had been cut from last year's village budget in a cost-saving move.

"It's quite expensive to stage this event, with the economic downturn and the sacrifices it entails," Bossart said. "The trustees and I no longer felt we were able to finance it out of the village operating expenses. All of our residents and our guests who come to this special evening should thank the Conservancy."

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