A Word About Last Night's Wills Park July 4 Fireworks Show

We have no doubt that some of you missed last night’s fireworks display at Wills Park, including some who had come to see the show but left when the heavy rain moved in or because at 10:00 the weather was still delaying the show.  For those who left disappointed, we apologize and hope that you will join us, again, next year when the weather will, hopefully, be more cooperative.

As it is likely that some may be wondering why we did not simply postpone the fireworks show once the rain moved in, we would like to take a moment to explain the reasons for our decision.

First and foremost, as is the case with most contracts for these types of fireworks displays, there was no option for postponing the show.  Had we not been able to proceed, the fireworks performance would have been canceled and the City’s payment of $35,000 would have been for naught because the case of the show not being performed would have been something outside of the vendor’s control (i.e. weather).  We did not have the option of postponing the show to another date.

Secondly, while many people had left the event, many had remained in the hopes that the performance could proceed.  We felt that those who had stuck it out deserved to see the show they had waited for.

Finally, the weather delayed the start of the fireworks show by approximately one hour from the time that the professionals producing the show had targeted.  The producers had determined that it would be dark enough to produce a quality show at approximately 9:30 PM.  The rain delayed the start of the show until 10:40 PM.  Throughout the delay, the City was using our social media channels to provide updates, including noting that the show would be canceled if it could not start by 10:40 PM.

So, now you know why we made the decision to proceed with last night’s fireworks show.

Whether or not you agree with that decision, we all likely agree that this year’s July 4th fireworks show did not go the way any of us wanted.  Unfortunately, the weather does not always cooperate, and we just have to look ahead to next year.