By COLIN M. STEWART
By COLIN M. STEWART
Tribune-Herald staff writer
Organizers say that this summer’s Fourth of July fireworks display over Hilo Bay could be in jeopardy if they can’t raise the $33,000 it’s going to cost.
For almost three decades, members of the Lehua Jaycees had collected donations, made the arrangements, and set off the fireworks, but this year they had to drop out and hand the responsibility over to another club, explained Kelton Chang, treasurer of the Hilo Jaycees.
“The county really wants to work with nonprofits on a venture like this, and it’s been a traditional thing for the Lehua Jaycees. They’ve done it for 28 years. It’s been one of their signature projects,” he said. “But, because they are no longer going to be in existence, they had to drop out.”
Attempts to contact a member of the Lehua Jaycees for comment were unsuccessful Friday, but Chang explained that he believes the club has struggled to maintain its membership numbers.
“Their chapter is winding down,” he said. “Membership has gone down to a point where they just can’t take on such a responsibility. So they decided to bow out graciously. But, the timing was difficult.
“I understand that the day after (the) Merrie Monarch (Festival), the Lehua Jaycees called the county and said they weren’t able to fulfill their obligation for the Fourth of July. So, the county gave us a call on May 15 to see if we were able to help out,” Chang said. “Now, we only have less than a month to raise the funds.
The club received about $18,000 from a special fund maintained by the Hawaii County Fire Department, but that still leaves them $15,000 short of the total pricetag for the show, he said.
“The Fourth of July is now in crisis,” Chang said. “We really need the rest from the community, businesses, anyone who can help.”
Despite their late start and their funding shortage, however, Hilo Jaycees members say they want to raise the bar for Hilo’s fireworks shows, by hiring a professional, full-time pyrotechnics company to oversee the display, as compared to years past, when the work was done by a licensed club member. Mountain View-based Hawaii Explosives and Pyrotechnics had already been in talks with the county when the Hilo Jaycees entered the picture, and together the groups arrived at the $33,000 pricetag, Chang said.
“The county was already speaking with them, and we renegotiated a fair price,” he said.
Even so, “to order these fireworks, a good period of time was needed in order to get a good deal, and now that it’s so late, the cost of fireworks is excessively more expensive.”
The company has been responsible for various other fireworks shows across the state, including the Fourth of July display in Kona. In December, Hawaii Explosives was responsible for donating a surprise, four-minute fireworks display at a post-inauguration celebration for Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi. At the time, company owner Donald Pascual declined to tell the Tribune-Herald the value of the donation.
In a phone interview Friday, Pascual said that his company will bring a number of improvements to the table, including its own barge from which to launch the fireworks in the center of the bay, as well as an electronic control board.
“We do about 150 shows a year, and now we’ll get to do our hometown show,” he said.
When asked to provide more specifics about how his company’s fireworks display would compare with past shows, Pascual said he would have to call a reporter back, but did not return the call by presstime Friday.
For more information or to donate, visit www.hilojaycees.org.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.