New Fireworks Show Gets Mostly Positive Reviews

By Gordon HopkinsThe City of Fairbury’s annual fireworks display received mixed, but largely positive, reviews.Traditionally, the fireworks display has been sponsored by VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Post 3113 since 1945. Earlier this year, the VFW advised the Fairbury City Council they were unable to continue the tradition, due to changes in permit and certification requirements. The council created a fireworks committee to ensure the show continued. The City of Fairbury donated $7,500 from the Keno fund to hire a professional fireworks company, Premier Pyrotechnics, to put on a 3,609 shot display for $9,959.25. The rest of the money came from donations.The advantage to hiring a third party is that they would be responsible for all necessary permits, licenses and insurance. The disadvantage is that July 4 is a busy time for such contractors and, as such, the show was held on Saturday, July 6, 2024.Fairbury City Council President Kelly Davis, who is also head of the fireworks committee, posted on Facebook after the show, “I’ve been reading the reviews for the fireworks show in Fairbury last night. Some were negative, but most were positive.” Among the complaints were the length of the show (an estimated 16 minutes) and a lack of music.Davis wrote, “The committee, made up of Brittany Hoffman, representing the Rural Fire Department, Dave Bruns, representing the VFW/Legion, Jim Mahaffy, representing the Shriners, and myself, did what we could in a short amount of time, getting the funding and securing a licensed vendor. I haven’t been to a fireworks display in over 20 years, so it didn’t occur to me to get music lined up, until it was too late. I talked with some locals, and the vendor has people that can do it, but it came up too late in the process.”Fairbury Mayor Spencer Brown was very happy with the results, “The Fireworks Committee did a great job working within the parameters of what they were handed when the VFW could no longer continue the fireworks display. A few months ago when the VFW told us of the issue, the outlook of a display of any kind was almost unlikely so I am very pleased that we had people in the community step up and not only put on a show, but a great show!”

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