[Symz]

This year's Fireworks could be the last.

source: http://www.windsorstar.com/news/This...692/story.html

The annual fireworks show which has drawn millions of spectators to the riverfront for more than 50 years may be a luxury cash-strapped Detroit can no longer afford.

The Detroit River fireworks show will take place this year, but its fate is uncertain as the City of Detroit teeters on the brink of bankruptcy.

“This is where we are right now,” Naomi Patton, press secretary for Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, said Monday. “That’s all we can say.”

Target Corp. sponsors the annual show — now in its 54th year — paying about $1 million annually for the fireworks. But the City of Detroit spends up to $700,000 each year to cover police and traffic control costs for the signature event.

The city’s recently approved budget starts July 1 and reduces spending by $250 million and cuts more than 2,500 jobs throughout every department.

Michigan’s state government is threatening a financial takeover of Detroit, while Bing is warning the city could run out of money by the end of this week. Bing released a statement late last week vowing this year’s fireworks display will happen as planned on Monday, June 25, despite the city’s financial crisis.

Some last-minute support from neighbouring police forces was secured — commitments made during the recent Mackinac Island economic conference — saving this year’s show, he said.

“After assessing the considerable public safety costs ... we have reached out to and received the support of the Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb Sheriff’s offices and the Michigan State Police to help ensure that this year’s fireworks display would go on as scheduled,” Bing said in a statement.

“However, future Detroit-based events that attract and entertain millions from throughout southeast Michigan are being carefully reviewed.

As the city moves forward, operating within the constraints of the city’s 2012-13 (budget), it is no longer feasible to have these events funded primarily by Detroit taxpayers.”

Bing has tentatively scheduled a news conference for Friday regarding this year’s fireworks show, Patton said.

On this side of the border, those connected to the fireworks display worry the show could fall by the wayside.

“This is so incredibly sad that a city like Detroit, which has already lost so much, could also lose (the fireworks),” said Maggie Durocher, executive director of the Windsor Parade Corp. which oversees Summer Fest, the Canada Day parade and the fireworks event.

“It’s part of our history. It’s a major event in Windsor. It’s a rite of passage for everyone heading into the summer. To lose that would be catastrophic.”

The parade corporation hosts a private riverfront party on fireworks night that features a steak dinner, wine tasting and entertainment. It is one of the organization’s primary revenue generators — this year’s tickets cost $100 per person — and helps support all Canada Day and Santa Claus parades across Windsor and Essex County.

“This could have serious repercussions for us,” Durocher said.

She also noted there would be consequences for several downtown hotels and business owners if the fireworks event is not held in future years.

Nearly a million people flock to the riverfront on both sides of the border each year to watch the fireworks show, which began in 1958 under the former Freedom Festival, an annual birthday celebration of Canada (July 1) and the U.S. (July 4).

“The riverbanks on both sides are filled and our hotels enjoy healthy occupancy because of the fireworks,” said Gordon Orr, CEO of Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island. “We really see a lot of activity in the downtown core as the day progresses. It’s definitely an asset to our tourism industry because of its size and scope.

“It’s been such a celebrated tradition for so long it really would be a shame for our residents and visitors if it’s not continued. It would be a terrible loss to our summer festival season and those who celebrate it as an annual family tradition. Hopefully, the City of Detroit see themselves get out of their economic woes.”

The City of Windsor spends about $250,000 for police, fire and traffic control costs for fireworks night, said Mayor Eddie Francis.

Francis said he was in recent contact with Detroit’s parade company — which helps oversee fireworks planning — and noted that organization has so far been able to weather the economic downturn and keep the event going.

“I’m not told anything by them,” Francis said. “I’m not sure what the plans are for the future, but I expect to have a discussion with them sometime later in the summer.”

The fate of the annual fireworks show was threatened once before when longtime sponsor Hudson’s withdrew its support in the late 1990s with a change in ownership. It was saved when Target stepped in.

Officials with Target’s head office in Minneapolis, Minn., did not respond to messages Monday from The Star.

Aside from any local financial impact, to lose the annual fireworks event would deal an even bigger blow to morale in this region, Durocher said.

“It’s awe-inspiring for everybody when you are standing there and just watching things going off,” she said. “It’s something everybody looks forward to and to lose that would be horrendously sad.”



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