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Council approves moving Firebird Festival to Reservoir Park for 2025 with conditions
Summary
Councilmember Moore moved and Councilmember Weiss seconded a motion on Sept. 9 to relocate the Firebird Festival from Veterans Park to Reservoir Park on Dec. 13, 2025; the motion passed with one abstention.
Councilmember Moore made a motion and Councilmember Weiss seconded to approve relocating the Firebird Festival from Veterans Park to Reservoir Park on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.; council approved the motion with one abstention.
Staff and festival organizers presented the move as a safety and circulation improvement. A staff member said Reservoir Park provides multiple entrance and exit points and reduces the single‑egress risk present at Veterans Park. Festival committee member Mary Anne Khalilhana said the committee had met neighbors, distributed notices and will install temporary barriers to prevent attendees from walking onto adjacent private property. "We will do our best in communicating...we will be pushing out via our email communications and our social media to avoid private property and encourage public transportation," Khalilhana said.
Council discussed logistical details the committee and staff are continuing to plan: temporary lighting on the field for vendor areas, vendor staging in the Fraspar Park parking lot so vendors can keep support vehicles nearby, possible shuttle service tied to police‑approved routes, and barricade placement to protect neighboring residences. Staff cautioned that some operational decisions (shuttle routes, closures and final vendor placement) will be made closer to the event date and noted that event plans are fluid depending on expected attendance and weather.
Council conditioned the approval on the festival’s submission of all required fees and a valid certificate of insurance naming the borough as additional insured. No permanent changes to park infrastructure were approved at the meeting.
The motion to relocate the festival passed with seven votes in favor and one abstention. Council directed staff to continue coordinating with the festival committee, police, public works and neighboring residents and to return with any permit or route details that require council action.
