Should next year’s fireworks be downtown?
July 7th, 2008Paula over on the Lovin Elgin blog asks if July 4th fireworks should be held in downtown Elgin:
The FoxFireFest proved that a supreme fireworks show could be held at Festival Park. If any of you were unable to go to the last FoxFireFest….it was spectacular. Especially the fireworks. With all the parking garages in this city, why can’t the fireworks be held at Festival Park? Imagine….4th of July’s in the future. The wonderful parade on Douglas stopping at City Hall where there is entertainment.
Perhaps the streets of downtown could be given over to artists…..artists selling their wares and street performers. Open restaurants could supply lunch and do some good business. Walk your way through the arts and crafts and street performers…eat lunch at a great restaurant…stop for an afternoon coffee at Ravenheart then head to Festival park for more entertainment culminating in awesome fireworks. Afterward, one could stop in the Elgin Public House or Martini’s or Prairie Rock for some adult entertainment. Families could stop at Al’s for icecream then go home and tuck the little ones into bed.
I’m not sure if there’s enough parking and directing traffic in and out of the city center will be far more difficult than getting traffic onto Route 20, but I think it’s a great idea that’s worth considering if at all possible. July 4th is one of those events that market themselves, so promoting it will be far easier than promoting FoxFireFest. And if the idea of all the downtown festivals is to get people to the downtown to try out the restaurants, see the great architecture and experience all the things we love about downtown Elgin, then holding the fireworks display as part of an all-day celebration is probably a really great idea.
Since this year’s fireworks display turned out disastrous on more than one count, it’s a good time to consider new ideas.
Thank you for printing excerpts from my post and linking to my blog. I am heartened that someone else is looking through the same rose colored glasses I am. I work long days an hours drive from Elgin and am short on time but I am thinking of squeezing in enough time to get involved in the Downtown Neighborhood Association. It’s easy to sit here and blog but every vision needs people behind it to help put it into action.
Posted July 7th, 2008 at 9:52 pmAlthough one can question the need for more “rose colored glasses” in Elgin, Paula’s idea has merit. Perhaps the obvious concerns about traffic management could be addressed at least in part by events that could stagger the traffic by attracting and keeping visitors before and after the fireworks. It might help to start the parade later, too. Anyway, I’d certainly encourage Paula to run with it.
Posted July 8th, 2008 at 5:10 pmI hope somebody at the DNA follows up on that, Paula. I’m sure the organization can use your efforts.
RM’s point is a good one. Traffic might actually be better than at the sports complex since there would be more to do both before and after the actual fireworks, staggering the times when people arrive and leave.
It would also make it much easier for people to walk to the event. Nobody lives by the sports complex, but a ton of people live near the downtown, and all of them could simply walk there.
So it’s definitely an idea worth pursuing.
Posted July 12th, 2008 at 5:48 am