Paso Robles 4th of July Celebration is Cancelled
Fireworks canceled due to lack of support
Paso Robles ends 4th of July fireworks tradition
The 2013 Paso Robles 4th of July Fireworks event scheduled for Barney Schwartz Park has been cancelled. On Friday, the Fireworks Committee made the difficult decision to cancel the event when it became apparent there were insufficient funds to pay for the event. Committee Chairman Al Garcia said “there is a lot of public support for the fireworks event, but we were unable to translate that support into funding. We greatly appreciate those individuals and companies who donated to the fireworks project.”
Al Garcia
“Despite our last minute funding efforts which ended Friday, May 31 at 9 a.m., we were about $15,000 short, assuming we could collect all the pledges; a challenge in itself” Garcia says. “We did not have enough cash on hand May 31 for me to sign required checks. In addition, we had serious concerns about finding the 100-plus volunteers needed for the event.”
When asked about what will happen with the funds already donated, Garcia said that donors of identifiable funds will be contacted and the funds will be refunded to the donor or rolled over to the 2014 fireworks, as the donor requests. All remaining funds will be retained for the 4th of July fireworks in 2014 when the Fireworks Committee will again work to fund the event.
The 4th of July Fireworks Celebration is a community event and must be funded by the community. The weak economy definitely had an impact as many companies that have generously donated in the past have not been able to help or have had to reduce their donation.
The Fireworks Committee, Jim and Shirley Fritsche, Joy Sprague, Randal Moos, and Duane Picanco, appreciates the community support and looks forward to holding a 4th of July celebration in 2014. Jim Fritsche said “we want to keep this Paso Robles tradition going. We’re sad about this year, but we look forward to PasoBlast 2014.”
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