Brick SummerFest Kicks Off With Lots Of Fireworks (Video)

BRICK, NJ -- A little before 9:30 Thursday night, the sky over Windward Beach lit up with fireworks.

No thunderstorms forced postponement. And unlike Wednesday night a few miles to the south, there were no delivery issues, either.

With a crowd estimated at 13,000 in the park and untold numbers watching from boats on the Metedeconk River, the Brick SummerFest concert series for 2018 kicked off with a bang. (Watch the video below.)

The fireworks show was put on by Fireworks Extravaganza, the same company that was responsible for two failed presentations on July 4th, in Beachwood and Milltown, when the driver who was scheduled to deliver the fireworks to those towns failed to show.

The company's president, John Sagaric, issued a lengthy apology on Facebook Thursday, but not before thousands of angry residents blistered the company in now-deleted reviews on its Facebook page. Sagaric took responsibility for the failure to have a backup plan in place on the biggest fireworks-viewing day of the year.

Brick Township Business Administrator Joanne Bergin said township officials were nervous when word of Wednesday's debacle spread. But by noon Thursday the truck was enroute to Brick for the show, she said.

Bergin said Brick had used Fireworks Extravaganza in 2017 for the SummerFest shows without issue, even when the first two shows — including what would have been the Independence Day show — had to be postponed due to thunderstorms.

Thursday night, the only issue was a couple of gusts of wind carrying embers a little closer to the crowd than anyone liked, falling just short of the lawn area. The fireworks lit up the sky and lit up the faces of thousands who watched, and at after the finale, the boats on the river sounded their horns in appreciation for the show.

"What a great show," one man said while waiting for the shuttle bus afterward. "The best I've seen in a while."

Seeing the display, it's easy to understand why Fireworks Extravaganza had received such positive reviews in the past. It's also understandable why so many who would have gone to Beachwood or Milltown on Wednesday will be unlikely to forgive the failure to deliver anytime soon.

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Photo by Karen Wall, Patch staff