Select Board Details Reasons for Fireworks Cancellation

The town of Oak Bluffs shed new light this week on its decision to cancel the town’s annual fireworks show last Friday, just hours before it was supposed to commence.

On Wednesday, the Oak Bluffs firework committee released a statement explaining that unfavorable seas and weather forced the town to cancel the longstanding August tradition.

“The Oak Bluffs Fireworks Committee recognizes the disappointment felt by residents and visitors following the cancellation of this year’s annual fireworks display,” the committee wrote. “The decision was made because high winds and rough sea conditions made it unsafe to load and deploy the fireworks.”

The committee said strong seas and windy weather destabilized the floating barge from which the fireworks are launched, impeding technicians’ ability to handle the explosives safely. 

“Under those circumstances, proceeding with show preparations would have placed crews and the public at unnecessary risk,” the statement wrote.

At Tuesday’s select board meeting, select board chair Dion Alley said the town did not take the decision to cancel the show lightly. He took personal responsibility for the cancellation and said the decision was based on information from first responders, pyrotechnicians and the National Weather Service.

“We’re trying to load 57 cases of fireworks onto a barge that’s constantly moving, and if you drop it, they can explode…” he said. “As much as we love the fireworks… it’s not worth losing one person, and I hope that people understand that.”

“We thought of everything we could to try to make it work, and we just couldn’t,” he added.

Oak Bluffs town administrator Wendy Brough noted her appreciation for the fireworks committee. She said rescheduling the event for a different weekend this year would have been impossible, given that the town had already spent its budget. The show costs around $100,000 to produce.

“Unfortunately, we can’t recoup our costs. That’s why we can’t put it on again,” she said.

This article appears in August 28, 2026.