McIntire fireworks on brink of fizzling

The future of Charlottesville’s fireworks celebration in McIntire Park is still hazy at best, as the group that was in charge for many years steps away from organizing and fundraising the festival after today.
“So far no one has stepped up,” said Dave Phillips, chairman of the Save the Fireworks Committee. “It’s all just been talk, there’s no real action plan at this point.”

Charlottesville’s Save the Fireworks Committee, a band of local businesses that has for seven years planned and funded the city’s Independence Day celebration, is dropping the festival after this year. The announcement was made last month, and no one has since said they would operate the annual event.
On the festival’s Web site, the committee wrote, “It would be unforgivable if the number one city in North America and the birthplace of Thomas Jefferson failed to celebrate the 4th of July.”
“It would be a terrible thing to happen,” said Ray Cadell, a longtime committee member.

Phillips said that unless someone with deep pockets comes forward, it would be difficult to hold subsequent celebrations. The committee has taken over the festival on two occasions, once from the Charlottesville-Albemarle Jaycees and again from the Charlottesville Downtown Foundation. Save the Fireworks took its name when it stepped in after the Jaycees canceled the fireworks just before the 2002 holiday, citing decreased donations and manpower problems.
The committee is facing similar financial problems. Phillips said there’s money to pay for this year — unlike in past years, when the celebration cost around $40,000, this year’s expenses run at about $20,000, most of which is being spent on fireworks — but the bank will be empty afterward.
“July 5 we won’t have any more money,” Phillips said.
Both the Charlottesville and Albemarle County governments have not talked formally about taking the festival over.
“We would prefer it to be a private initiative,” city spokesman Ric Barrick said.

In the past, the Charlottesville government has contributed items such as shuttle buses and police for security during the annual event, and it will do the same for today’s gathering. According to past Albemarle County budgets, the county first started giving money to the fireworks committee in fiscal 2007, which began July 1, 2006. The county contributed $10,000 that year and did so for the following two fiscal years as well. No money was set aside for the current fiscal year because the committee did not apply for public funds.
County spokeswoman Lee Catlin also said she has not heard any interest from county officials in doing more for the festival than they have done in the past. Barrick said the city would assist in helping transition the festival to different hands, but the costs would not be absorbed by the city budget.

“It’s a community celebration,” he said. “We’re not looking to take over funding.”
Phillips said that more talks would continue after today’s event wraps up. But Cadell said that fireworks for next year’s show must be purchased in about a month’s time to make the event happen. That needs to be taken care of swiftly, he said, “or else it’s not possible for it to happen at all next year.”