With good-natured jokes firing off all around, Lansdale Borough Council Wednesday enthusiastically approved the post-pandemic return of the town’s huge annual Founders Day celebration in August.
Known for its elaborate pyrotechnics each year, Founders Day got a unanimous nod from council at the monthly business meeting for a special event permit Saturday, Aug. 28, including the closure of several borough streets for portions of the day-long celebration and the evening’s fireworks display.
"I dare someone else to second that motion,” said council President Denton Burnell, laughing, as Vice-President Mary Fuller chimed in to second Public Safety Committee Chair Meg Currie Teoh’s motion. "I didn’t get to do it last year,” said Fuller, who also heads Discover Lansdale’s Founders Day committee. "It’s been bottled up for two years now.”
"Since we missed the fireworks last year, does that mean we’ll have twice the fireworks this year?” councilman B.J. Breish asked Fuller. She responded "Well, if it’s up to me … maybe I’ll save some extra ones for 2022.”
Like virtually every other public event scheduled for 2020, Founders Day was canceled last summer under the cloud of the COVID pandemic. Its approval this summer signifies the cautious return of a sense of normality amid easing safety restrictions.
Fuller also noted Discover Lansdale would be approaching borough council in June for permission to resume its popular First Friday summer schedule in the near future.
"Lansdale is a town that loves to gather, so 2020 was an especially rough year for those of us who like to celebrate ‘Life in Motion’ around town and at events,” Fuller said later. "On behalf of the Founders Day Committee and Discover Lansdale, we're so excited that the Borough's Special Events Committee has given us the green light. … We're watching CDC and state guidelines closely and will ensure whatever safety protocols that need to be in place will be.”
The 2021 Founders Day theme, she said, will be "Preserving our Past.”
"We'll be setting the stage for the 2022 sesquicentennial, when we celebrate Lansdale's 150th," Fuller said. "We really have some great things planned for that as well.” She said those who wish to volunteer to help organize and operate Lansdale’s 150th events. or who are interested in more information, can send an email to
[email protected] or catch the news spotlight at
www.lansdale.org.
