The long Fourth of July weekend in the city of Dunkirk was filled with music, aerobatic stunts and finished off with the bang of fireworks on the Pier. However, the weekend didn’t feature any major incidents, according to city officials Wednesday.

“I’m really happy with the turnout. The Memorial Park events where the music happened were very well attended. All the vendors were selling out of food. Some of the bands we had were national acts and they drew quite a crowd of a few thousand people, so that’s a good thing for Dunkirk,” Dunkirk Festivals and Special Events Coordinator Hector Rosas said.

“From Main Street to Serval was packed (for the 2017 Dunkirk-Lake Shore Air Show) and then we had people in boats and along the railing by the Clarion and the marina as well as Memorial Park, the Boardwalk and Bart’s Cove. With all that you very well may have had 20,000. So, that’s what we’re thinking. It was definitely better attendance than last year.

“The only thing that didn’t (go as planned) was the Misty Blues couldn’t (jump) because of the wind both days. So that’s one act that couldn’t go on because of the wind, but for the most part the weather cooperated for us the whole six-day week. It was quite a week-long celebration.”

Mayor Willie Rosas agreed, saying the show was “excellent” and “met expectations.” He also thanked the police, fire, festivals and public works departments for helping pull off the weekend’s slate of events .

“We received many compliments on that air show. I thought the fireworks went really well. We had a lot of people, but there weren’t any major incidents at all. … There were a lot of people, I know in Wright Park there was absolutely no parking left there for the fireworks. For the air show along the lake all the way to Bart’s Cove was full of people. For our music too, we received a lot of compliments, saying they were astonished with the events we were able to put out,” he said.

Besides being a fun weekend, it was also a safe one, with no major incidents.

“We were busy all weekend with different calls, but everything went pretty smoothly,” Fire Chief Mike Edwards said. “… I think the air show was a huge success. Everything came together as far as we were concerned and there were no major incidents. … I don’t think it could have worked out any better and it was a great show.”

Police Chief Dave Ortolano said his officers were also very busy, but good planning helped in keeping the public safe.

“We had plans in place ahead of time for the air show and a plan in place for Fourth of July evening, so we had a full complement of officers available. My guys did a great job and we moved everybody in and out of the waterfront for the air show and especially for (fireworks) because the crowd was huge, one of the biggest crowds I’ve seen in a while for the Fourth of July,” he said. “… But everything went well and that attributed to a good plan and we implemented our plan and got everyone out of here safely and provided a good safe environment for people to enjoy themselves.”

Ortolano thanked his officers and the command team for their planning. Edwards thanked all the agencies that helped the fire department including Chautauqua County Emergency Services; Chautauqua County Fire Police; Alstar Ambulance; Fredonia, East Dunkirk, Cassadaga and Sheridan fire departments; the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Navigation Division; and the New York State Police Marine Unit.

“It takes a lot of effort to put this on in terms of safety,” Edwards added.

The city is now preparing for its continued summer events schedule including Music on the Pier every Thursday evening, the Beach Bash Aug. 5-6 and Picnic at the Point on Sept. 10.