Portsmouth 400th anniversary downtown lobster dinner postponed by one day due to forecast
PORTSMOUTH — The outdoor downtown lobster dinner for 900 guests marking Portsmouth’s 400th anniversary has been pushed back a day due to inclement weather in the forecast.
The Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth’s “street.life!” dinner on Congress Street, traditionally held each summer for between 350 to 400 city business community members, has been postponed and rescheduled for Wednesday evening, a day later than originally planned.
The 2023 dinner is changing locations and being more than doubled in size, in honor of the city’s quadricentennial. The dinner, catered by Fosters Clambakes and Catering and emceed by local and national celebrity host Tom Bergeron, is causing the city to bar vehicular traffic from Market Square, the entire length of Congress Street and several nearby streets.
The “street.life!” event is being produced in partnership between the chamber and Portsmouth NH 400th Inc. — the group leading all anniversary events in Portsmouth throughout the year — as one of the city anniversary year’s signature events.
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The city, chamber and Portsmouth NH 400th Inc. announced the postponement due to the rainy forecast.
“Mother Nature calls the shots, as she has for more than 400 years!” the chamber wrote in its announcement.
The nighttime event is slated to kick off at 6 p.m. with a cocktail reception, which will precede dinner and entertainment beginning an hour later. Anniversary group leaders shared a secret 15-minute grand finale will occur at 8:45 p.m.
The dinner will include video messages from New Hampshire’s two U.S. senators, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, and a message from astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Dignitaries and business community members will be joined at dinner by Gerardine Mulvenna, mayor alderman of East Antrim, Ireland, one of Portsmouth’s six sister cities.
Valerie Rochon, managing director of Portsmouth NH 400th Inc., and Ben VanCamp, president of the Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth, previously compared the event size to that of Market Square Day.
“This is a once-in-a-400-year event. We join the city in providing this information to reduce the impact that it will have on residents and businesses that day,” VanCamp said in a prepared statement. “We thank everyone in advance for your understanding. Happy 400th, Portsmouth!”
All-day street closures and parking bans previously scheduled for Tuesday have been moved to Wednesday with the event’s postponement.
The following roads will have no parking and will be closed off beginning at 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 16:
High Street from Congress Street to Ladd Street.
Ladd Street.
Chestnut Street from Congress Street to Porter Street.
The following streets will have no parking starting at 8 a.m. on Wednesday and will then be closed to vehicles until 11 p.m.:
Congress Street.
Daniel Street from Penhallow Street to Market Square.
Market Street from Bow Street to Market Square.
Fleet Street from Porter Street to Hanover Street
Pleasant Street from Porter Street to Hanover Street will be closed off for parking and vehicular driving from 9 a.m. until 11 p.m.
Cars on these streets during the closure times will be ticketed and towed to the National Wrecker Service lot.
All sidewalks will remain open to the public and pedestrian crossings will be available on Fleet Street, Maplewood Avenue and Market Square.
Information: portsmouthchamber.org/street.life-400
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth NH 400th anniversary lobster dinner postponed by one day
