Fourth of July celebration is community’s gift to itself

The annual Fourth of July celebration in downtown Coeur d’Alene represents a community collage of citizen and business donations, months of planning and, for some people, countless hours of toil.

And while the Chamber of Commerce for the City by the Lake may be the coordinator of the festivities, the day is “a community event put on by the community,” said Jonathon Coe, president and general manager of the chamber. “In essence, a gift we give each other.”

The FirstBank Fourth of July Festival and Fireworks will include a morning parade on Sherman Avenue, concerts in City Park on the Lake Coeur d’Alene waterfront throughout the day and food and craft vendors on hand. Finally, the thousands of visitors, participants and spectators will be treated to a community-funded $30,000 aerial nightcap, including the misfired finale from last year’s show.

“Consequently, the finale this year will be huge,” said Rich Vaughan, the eastern regional manager at Entertainment Fireworks Inc. in Spokane.

Vaughan, a 23-year veteran in the fireworks business, and his crew will begin to set up the roughly 20-minute display at the end of June. For it, 25 cubic yards of sand will be hauled onto an awaiting barge. In meticulous fashion, the fireworks will be placed and rigged for the electrically fired show.

In addition, a backup launch system will be installed so that, unlike last year, all the projectiles will go out with a bang and flash of brilliance over the lake. The 2005 finale fizzled because of a problem with the trigger. “The only sure thing about pyrotechnics is you’re never sure,” Vaughan said. “It’s just the nature of the beast.”

The EFI Spokane office, which puts on more than 40 other shows in several states on Independence Day, will have a crew working from dawn till dusk in the days prior to the Coeur d’Alene show.

And after the last shell has been fired, they will clean up through the night until the barge is bare. Vaughan said last year he worked 70 hours straight – and probably will put in even more time this year.

For Debbie Berger, the chamber’s fireworks fundraiser coordinator, her day begins with the Backwards Parade Bucket Brigade, a volunteer group that starts its route at the end of the parade and collects donations as they walk back to where it all begins on 15th Street.

And although the fundraising is about halfway to the $30,000 goal, this is the time when the going gets tough, Berger said.

With the business-area donations – including Blue Jean Friday and the Marina Challenge – plus the Bucket Brigade and several drop-off donation locations scattered around town, organizers usually hit their goal each year.

“The businesses every year really just step up to the plate,” Berger said.

If there is an excess of funds, they will be used to raise the bar for the next year’s Independence Day community celebration, she said.