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The 2010 Community Fireworks Show needs a new firing site, and a date.  Organizers also caution that this could be the last year for the annual patriotic community fireworks show because of dwindling donations.

For only the second time in 63 years, campus construction projects have reduced the area from which fireworks can be shot without compromising safety for spectators.  For the past two decades, fireworks have been shot from atop Ithaca College’s South Hill campus to kick off the local celebration of the Independence Day holiday.  The fireworks shows moved there after new buildings constructed at Cornell University closed in on the firing area near Hoy Field and Schoellkopf Field.

Beginning with the first community fireworks show in 1947, a volunteer committee has organized the annual free event, with Cornell University and Ithaca College serving as host locations, according to Fran Benedict, chair of the committee.  Also since 1947, funding for the annual shows has relied entirely on donations.

“Unfortunately, contributions have not kept pace with the cost of producing fireworks spectacles,” he said.   “The cost of producing a fireworks shows such as we have enjoyed can be as much as $1,500 a minute.”

Benedict said contributions in donation barrels the night of the show have fallen far below the actual cost.  The 2009 fireworks display cost more than $25,000, he explained, but barrel donations were only $5,500.  About one-fourth of that came from the sale of glow sticks and other novelty items the night of the fireworks show.

A “VIP” barbecue and entertainment area near the firing site has helped underwrite the cost of fireworks shows, Benedict said, but cost-cutting measures and efforts to raise additional funds over the past ten years have not worked.  “We have enough in our reserve fund to produce one last blast, providing we can find a suitable location for firing and viewing,” Benedict said, adding that the committee continues to explore other possible sites in order to preserve this community tradition.

When the Theory Center building at Cornell was constructed, Ithaca College provided its upper athletic fields as a firing site.  Last summer, however, a new residence hall was constructed in a portion of the parking lot near the South Hill firing site.  Measurements to determine a safe and legal firing area show that continued use of that site is not possible, Benedict explained.

Ithaca College President Tom Rochon said: “We have been delighted to host community fireworks shows for the past two decades.  With the construction of new buildings and concerns for the safety of our facilities and spectators, however, our campus no longer is a suitable location for a display on the scale of this annual event.”

Both Ithaca College and Cornell have been “wonderful hosts” for 62 years, Benedict said.   “We could not have had great fireworks shows without the cooperation and support of the IC and Cornell staff, along with area fire and police agencies, Tompkins Trust Company, TCAT transit service, and our media partners — Cayuga Radio Group and The Ithaca Journal, among many other local organizations.”

Benedict said attendance at fireworks shows in the last ten years has dwindled, as have on-site donations.  “Thousands of people watch the show from area hillsides and parks, for example, far more than the number of people who have watched on the IC campus in recent years.  Unfortunately, we get very few donations from people watching from these other locations,” he said.

“Our goal is keep this tradition alive,” Benedict said.  “If 2010 is our last year, though, we’ll have a jam-packed, last-blast fireworks show.”

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