Fireworks will light up the Fourth

LOCATION: The Livingston County,USA

DATE: April 11, 2010

BY: Livingston Daily.com

 

DETAILS: The Livingston County Area Fireworks Committee was able to reach its fundraising goal for this summer's Fourth of July fireworks display in Fowlerville when Tenpenny Furniture in Genoa Township stepped up to become a sponsor of the annual event.

Last month, the committee reported it had gathered less than half of the $10,000 needed to put on its annual fireworks show.

"Every year, we struggle to get enough money to put on a fireworks show," Steve MacDermaid, a member of the Fowlerville Rotary Club, which works closely with the committee's fundraising efforts, told the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus in March. "We lack the ability to find a major sponsor for the fireworks."

The fireworks display is one of two public displays in Livingston County held July 4. The community of Gregory in Unadilla Township also launches fireworks on the Fourth. In the past, Kensington Metropark hosted fireworks on Independence Day, but last year changed its display to June 12, near Flag Day.

Despite its annual difficulty in fund-raising, the committee, formerly known as the Fowlerville Fireworks Committee, has pushed to keep presenting the fireworks. Not only has the committee persevered in putting on the display, but its recent name change reflects plans to expand the event beyond just fireworks.

Last year, the Fourth of July event included a silent auction, the Taste of Fowlerville, a farmers' market and parade, among other attractions. Organizers would like to keep those type of events, and add paid entertainers to the lineup.

"We'd like to be able to compensate people for coming out and doing this," Peg Ogden, a member of the fireworks committee, said last month. "And we need money to pay people for the entertainment."

Part of the difficulty in expanding the event is that organizers often begin the day well shy of the thousands of dollars needed to pay for the fireworks show and the insurance to cover it, which doesn't include any other costs associated with the event, according to MacDermaid.