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Chicago cancels fireworks for July 3, 2010
Looks like the people of Chi-town will have to come up with their own fireworks extravaganza this year. Breaking news from the Chicago Tribune reports that Chicago's traditional July 3 Grant Park fireworks display is canceled. "I would say we're doing it to be fiscally responsible, because we have to be," said Megan McDonald, director of the Mayor's Office of Special Events. "We're also doing it to more effectively manage what happens at the Taste of Chicago, as well as citywide on an already busy holiday weekend. I think it is always challenging to manage a million, 2 million people in a very small space."
The fireworks display - part of the Taste of Chicago - is just one of the many celebrations Chicago plans to put on hold in 2010 (the famous South Side Irish Parade, Venetian Night and the Outdoor Film Festival were also cut). Canceling these celebrations, said McDonald, will save the city between $1 million and $2 million.
Not all is lost for Chicago residents wanting to celebrate their Independence Day with a little flare. The Mayor's office announced it will stage three smaller fireworks displays spread out along the lakefront - the North Side fireworks will be held around Montrose Beach; the South Side fireworks in the vicinity of 63rd Street Beach; and the third display will take place at Navy Pier. Each fireworks show will be 15 minutes.
Filed under: Festivals and Events, North America, United States
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
wes Jan 30th 2010 1:47PM
What about all the tax money these exents generate? Part of the reason for these events is to build revenue for buisnesses, who pay taxes. We could do away with the Air Show in the summer, thats a bum deal.
Marcia Dahlquist Jan 30th 2010 12:30PM
The third or forth without downtown fireworks???The show is viewed by many more than those at the lakefront..Roof tops and upper windows are filled with people watching too,between the other tall buildings down town.The show has been world class and a wonder to see from all over Chicago.The reason people go to Chicago is to see it ALL in one spot.Drag them all over and you lose them.A penny saved is millions lost...
bill Jan 30th 2010 12:37PM
this is b.s. chicago was 1 of the first u.s. cities to follow in China & Russia's communist foot steps--they had all the $ in the world to cover Chicago with cameras to watch ppl. thus making dead veterans totally pointless! way to thank a vet! i hope Chicago's leaders are charged for unamerican activities, then executed. they are pigs who do not deserve to live in our country. remember anyone who hates freedom is a...terrorist! and remember al quaida never installed a single camera in the u.s. or passed a single anti-freedom statute, but the supreme ct just gave human constitutional rights to corpoarate fictions! BTW cigarette smoke blocks facial recognition software-that's the real reason they are banning smoking in public, it was never about your health! when you are watched all the time, you are in prison! semper fidelis
Dead West Jan 30th 2010 1:05PM
Sooo glad I moved out of Chicago to Texas 2 years ago. I loved that city, but so happy to be away from the liberal stench that enveloped the place and is slowly destroying it. It will soon be L.A. #2.
Jocko Jan 30th 2010 1:17PM
Chicago's Southside is an open sewer anyway. They have fireworks every night of the year. Ask any of the police who have to patrol this area. Mayor Daly should be tarred and feathered but there aren't enough feathers to cover his fat little body.