Kiwanis Club wants to bring back fireworks
The Madera Tribune File Photo
The Greater Madera Kiwanis Club is hoping to bring back a city-wide Fourth of July Celebration, complete with a 30-minute fireworks show. The club recently got city approval to have a show at the Madera District Fairgrounds and will next look for sponsors for the event.
The Greater Madera Kiwanis Club is trying to bring back the city’s fireworks celebration after a five year absence.
“Fireworks haven’t been done in Madera for a few years,” said Kiwanis Club member Rohi Zacharia. “We wanted to bring out the initiative to bring it back. We feel it’s something the city needs. We’re looking at a way to bring it on as a nonprofit of the old way it used to be — raising money. We want to make it a bigger event and that’s why we moved it to the fairgrounds, so it can be a bigger community event.”
The Kiwanis Club is reaching out to other service clubs to get their help, but will next start reaching out to gather sponsorships for the event.
“Right now, that’s kind of our big project to see what other service groups want to come on board,” Zacharia said. “We just got it approved from the city to move forward. We want to start getting sponsorships because it’s going to take quite a bit of money to put this on.”
The Kiwanis Club was just approved by the city last week to be able to hold the event, which will be held at the Madera District Fairgrounds. Madera Mayor Santos Garcia and City Manager Arnoldo Rodriguez were at the Kiwanis meeting last week to approve the club.
“The city is going to stand behind us and help us with fire and police, which is a big proponent for the event,” Zacharia said. “It will be a big boost for us. Now, we have to find some donors to come on board so we can get enough money for a good show.”
Zacharia estimates it will cost about $60,000 to put on a good show.
“To put on a 30-minute show, the fireworks alone will cost $45,000,” he said. “The rest will depend on the community and how much donations we can get. Costs add up pretty quick. I’m hopeful we can get a majority of that donated and we can get to that $60,000 price range.”
Now that the first hurdle is cleared by getting the city’s approval, the next biggest hurdle has to be reached — raise enough money for the show.
“We first wanted to get the city’s approval, which came last week,” Zacharia said. “Now, it’s a race to get a lot of these sponsors that are pretty promising. Hopefully, it won’t be an issue to raise the money. We want to get a lot of people on board. What we’re trying to do with the event is not only a fireworks show, there will be live music, a kids’ area and it will be free, besides the food and drink. We’re just trying to make it a big community event.”
Although the timeframe isn’t as tight as it may seem, Zacharia wants to make sure enough comes in to put on a great community show.
“We’ve been working with the city because they have been putting it on before,” he said. “As far as getting our timeline down with money, what it sounds like is the money can come in pretty late. Some of the things that may come up front are the permits, which is pretty minor in regards to the fireworks.”
