NEWBURYPORT — Several outdoor events planned for the long holiday weekend were still scheduled to go on despite the hurricane, but two did have to be cut short.
The Alabama, the tall ship owned by The Black Dog clothing company, departed Newburyport a day early, apologizing for the inconvenience it caused residents who had wanted to take a tour and for canceling a Governors Academy event planned for last night. The ship had been slated to stay until this morning.
Jamie Douglas, director of retail operations for The Black Dog, said the crew made the decision to leave yesterday at 6 a.m., as it was "deemed the safest day for travel."
The ship left for its next stop, the Gloucester Schooner Festival, where the crew would have a better location to tie the boat up.
In addition, Salisbury fire Chief Rick Souliotis canceled the Salisbury Beach fireworks display planned for tomorrow night. The reason is that the fireworks are shot from a barge anchored in the water off the beach, and seas are expected to be too rough to do that safely.
While the waters may be rough tomorrow, forecasters are predicting a pleasant weekend on land. Newburyport Labor Day Festival organizer Kathy Heywood said yesterday that the three-day downtown event is still a go.
"We're going to happen," she said. "The weekend is supposed to be nice. The only way I would cancel it is if I get a direct order from (police Marshal) Tom Howard that it's not safe."
The Labor Day Festival will include several musical and entertainment acts in downtown Newburyport, as well as food vendors.
Staff at Blue Ocean Music Hall in Salisbury were waiting until last night to make a decision on whether to hold the John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band concert today, but a nature walk planned at Maudslay State Park tomorrow was still on as of yesterday, as long as any rain had stopped and the winds were under control.
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