Times might be tough, but an explosive July 4th celebration is still a priority for many communities.
Although some smaller towns have canceled their Independence Day celebrations to save money, other cities are changing their displays or partnering with private companies to get more bang for the buck.
Beverly Snyder, president of Stonebreaker Fireworks, said business is on par with the past few years.
“Something we’re seeing is some cities are buying more smaller shells and fewer larger ones in order to add volume,” Snyder said. “They can get more shells for the same amount of money if they buy smaller ones.”
In Boulder, real-estate company Wright Kingdom is footing the bill for the fireworks, the University of Colorado provides the venue and the city covers security and transportation.
Fort Collins is scaling back its festivities, even with the corporate sponsorship by Poudre Valley Health System.
“We aren’t hiring the symphony or having a vendors area — that’s sorta been taken over by Downtown Fort Collins, and we’re sending everyone over to city park after,” said city spokesman John Litel.
However, even with private support, some cities are too strapped to send up fireworks this year. Louisville announced it would be canceling all of its festivities.
Louisville spokeswoman Meredyth Muth said the city could afford to fund either its July 4 celebration or its Labor Day festival — not both.
“Funding has been really tight, especially with the economy being bad, and we didn’t think we could make up for it with fundraising,” Muth said.
Fireworks will go off as planned in Thornton at a cost of $31,000. “It’s a long-standing tradition, and people expect it,” said city spokeswoman Lisa Wilson.
In Westminster, where about 17 city employees are in the process of being laid off, the $23,000 fireworks show will go on as planned. The city is splitting the cost with the Hyland Hills Park & Recreation District. The event is co-sponsored by the Adams 50 School District and the North Metro Arts Alliance.
Broomfield hopes to attract people from nearby northern cities where fireworks displays have been pared back or abandoned.
Broomfield’s $30,000 display at Broomfield County Commons Park and its festivities are considered almost sacrosanct, said city and county spokeswoman Rosann Doran.
“It’s the type of thing that encourages and maintains a sense of community,” she said.
Monte Whaley contributed to this report.
Bianca Davis: 303-954-1698 or bsmith-davis@denverpost.com
