Fundraiser to provide additional security for concerts about halfway to goal

Independence Park fans are backing up their comments with dollars

By Christy Nadalin
Posted 2/3/25

The effort to convince the Bristol 4th of July Committee to change course and keep the annual concert series at Independence Park reached a new level on Sunday, Feb. 2, when an online fundraising …

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Fundraiser to provide additional security for concerts about halfway to goal

Independence Park fans are backing up their comments with dollars

Posted

The effort to convince the Bristol 4th of July Committee to change course and keep the annual concert series at Independence Park reached a new level on Sunday, Feb. 2, when an online fundraising effort reached about half its goal in just a few short hours.

Save Bristol 4th, a coalition of Bristol residents and businesses, launched a GoFundMe on Sunday in response to a Bristol Phoenix article that cited a statement by Chief Kevin Lynch indicating that he would seek an additional $17-19K in the FY26 budget to address the public safety concerns of hosting the series at Independence Park.

With that goal in mind, the fundraiser launched, reaching the halfway mark about 6 hours later. The fundraiser can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-the-bristol-4th-of-july-concert-series. Tellingly, several of the businesses listed as donors include those that stand to lose business were the concerts to move, including Grasmere, Portside, and Jules' Ice Cream.

According to Save Bristol 4th, whose petition, with over 1,700 signatures, can be found at savebristol4th.com, “We are thrilled that the residents and businesses of Bristol have come together to provide real solutions, and we look forward to presenting the petition and the funds raised to the Bristol 4th of July Committee at their next meeting on February 27th at 7 p.m.”

According to the GoFundMe, funds will be returned to donors in the event that the concerts do not return to Independence Park.

July 4th concert series

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