Fireworks show draws crowds in Valley Stream

Village residents showed up in force for Valley Stream’s annual Fourth of July fireworks show at Firemen’s Field on Monday. Children danced near the deejay and frolicked in the bouncy houses supplied by the Bethlehem Assembly of God as people spread out on the grass in preparation for the show.

The evening included a successful marriage proposal on stage and a public honoring of Vinny Ang, former village clerk and consultant to the village who marked his 25th year organizing the event.

It was Ang who brought the show back to Valley Stream in 1991, motivated by his own memories of watching the fireworks in the village as a child. The Lions Club used to sponsor them, but the event was discontinued after the national bicentennial celebration in 1976.

When Ang got the approval of the board of trustees to bring the show back, a committee was formed to raise money for the fireworks, and Ang organized all other aspects of the event. That involved contacting air traffic control at Kennedy Airport, rerouting NICE buses and a slew of other responsibilities.

The Valley Stream Chamber of Commerce sponsors the show now, and once-routine objections from neighbors have given way to parties and barbecues in the yards near the park.

Ang plans to move to Florida, so this year looks to be his last heading up the event’s organization. He spoke with pride about what the fireworks have become. “They are exceptional,” he said. “There’s something about the venue. It’s small. You’re right on top of the fireworks.”