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Organizers of the annual community fireworks show have identified a new site for the show, at least for 2010.  Fran Benedict and David Stewart, chair and vice-chair of the organizing committee, said officials at Tompkins Cortland Community College have given permission for the show to be staged on the Dryden campus.  The show date will be Thursday night, July 1.

Finding a new site became necessary after construction of a residence hall last summer on the Ithaca College campus limited the South Hill firing site that had been used for two decades.  For the first 43 years, the fireworks had been shot from Cornell University’s campus before construction projects there eliminated the East Hill firing area.

“We have been exploring several possible sites, including state and city parks, as well as the use of barges on Cayuga Lake.  For a variety of reasons, these sites were not going to work,” Benedict and Stewart said.

“Use of the TC3 campus in Dryden is a one-time solution,” they emphasized, “and we are grateful to the college administration for responding to our request.”

TC3 President Carl Haynes commented, “We look forward to welcoming the community to our campus and helping to continue the long tradition of a community fireworks show.”

Benedict and Stewart noted that TC3 had a fireworks show last year as part of its 40th anniversary celebration.  “Not only was that show successful, but the campus parking lots provided a safe and comfortable area for parking and viewing,” they said, adding that there will not be a VIP area this year.

“We had two main goals in mind for 2010 — to continue to provide a patriotic and free show to kick off the local observance of the Independence Holiday, and to keep the show in Ithaca.  We have been able to meet one of those goals,” the organizers said.          

Since the first show in 1947, contributions have been the sole source of funding for the fireworks shows.

“Other than some in-kind services, such as for police and life-safety personnel directing traffic, local tax dollars have not been used to pay for the 62 previous fireworks shows.  That will continue to be the case, with TC3 being reimbursed for expenses it incurs,” Benedict and Stewart said.

In addition to contributions from the public, they explained, Tompkins Trust Company, Cornell University, Cornell Dairy, Ithaca College, TCAT transit service, and area public-safety agencies have assisted with arrangements in the past, while Cayuga Radio Group and the Ithaca Journal have provided promotional support.

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