Donations sought to save Paso’s fireworks show
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Since 2002, thousands of spectators have converged at Barney Schwartz Park for what officials called the North County’s largest Fourth of July celebration and the Central Coast’s biggest fireworks show — a community tradition in danger of discontinuation in 2009 due to an economic interruption in fundraising.
An estimated $16,000 was needed as of last week to keep the widely popular fireworks show alive.
“The need is urgent,” a Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce memo read. “Even though this is not a city event, Mayor [Duane] Picanco urges your support for the families in Paso Robles. Due to economic times, the businesses and community that have enjoyed the Fourth of July display for several years are also asked to help.”
Picanco was leading a campaign to save the event and said he had until noon today to secure the funding.
“We’re not asking for a check for the money today or tomorrow, we want to be sure that we’ve raised enough because we don’t want to turn around and re-issue checks,” he said on Monday.
Contributions of $1,000 or more were being sought due to the limited timeframe. Generous contributors were to receive VIP recognition in all promotional materials and the event itself, according to the chamber.
The Fourth of July celebration, a longtime family-oriented tradition in Paso Robles, has been funded and spearheaded each year through the generous efforts of benefactor Bill Frost of Paso Robles-based Chemlogics Group and carried a typical price tag of between $40,000 and $50,000. The show has been co-sponsored by the city of Paso Robles and attracted upwards of 15,000 attendees to celebrate Independence Day, officials said.
“Independence — it’s a big thing,” Picanco said. “It’s patriotic, it’s the red, white and blue. It has been such a great event for families to go out to the park on the Fourth of July, and so I was just trying to save it for this year until we really get a chance to get it organized.”
Frost, the driving force behind the show, said considerable efforts have been made to keep festivities alive and add new features and fireworks upgrades over the years. Costs for putting on the show have concurrently increased.
“We’re supportive of it, and we want to continue to be supportive,” he said. “I’m definitely hopeful that it will stay alive in the future. I’m not certain for 2009. We’re getting a little late in the game for the show, not that we can’t put it on, but the fireworks selection, it’s kind of like going to a buffet breakfast and you arrive about five minutes before it closes; the selection is not going to be the greatest at the end. I think that if people really want to really see it and be there and we can get more people to assist in the fundraising, then I think it is viable.”
The Fourth of July Paso Robles Fireworks Committee, which was “just kind of one or two people who pitched in to help to fund the money,” has worked to bring the event to fruition, Frost said.
Frost said he approached city officials last year and met with City Manager Jim App and some council members to voice his concerns over the increasing difficulty raising the necessary funds and suggested that the event not continue in 2009. In 2008, the show did not include choreographed music due to a shortage in funds.
Frost said he thought a broader base of fundraising support was needed in order for the event to continue. Because it’s held at a city facility — Barney Schwartz Park — and city personnel are onsite during the festivities, there may be a false public impression that the event was being put on solely by the city, he said. Hard costs for the Fourth-of-July event, however, were funded through only a handful of donors, which posed challenges.
“We just need a wider level of community support,” he said. “This discussion has been going on with the city for two or three years. I started talking to people at the city and said, ‘I don’t think it’s going to be viable.’ I think what has to be done is we really need to step back for a year and that maybe it was best to stop and help people realize that [the event] is not inevitable. I think there’s still interest for people to help sponsor this thing, but there has to be a broader base of support in the community.”
Like Frost, Picanco said fundraising for the event should start earlier.
“This whole thing needs to start earlier,” he said. “It needs to start sometime in August — get a committee together, because for one thing this isn’t a city fundraising event. This whole event started with Chemron and [Frost], and then he continued to contribute some money, so did and Lubrizol, and so that’s how that whole thing has been going on. For the most part the city has been involved because of fire and police because of safety, and then maybe a little bit of maintenance, but I think it has to come from the private sector and not the public sector.”
Frost commended the REC Foundation for stepping forward in 2008 with a commitment to contribute $10,000 every year for five years to support the event, but said that the funding was not enough to support the total cost to put the event on.
“I really want to thank the REC Foundation for offering their support for five years,” he added. “We thought that would be enough to continue it, but the recession is making it more difficult.”
Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce CEO Mike Gibson said he thought both local businesses and the community as a whole have really enjoyed the fireworks display.
“It’s just been a huge community of kids and adults and people just having fun at Barney Schwartz Park, with a culmination of a wonderful fireworks display that the rest of the community has been able to enjoy,” he said. “We find it very frustrating, but we understand that with these economic times, that the benefactor in the past is now unable to do that this year. I just wish that we had more time before we had to order these fireworks. I’m very impressed that Mayor Picanco has taken this task on in difficult times, and I’m hoping for his success.”
Frost said he was hopeful that the event, a Paso Robles tradition for seven years, would continue to offer spectators the same quality experience into the future.
“I think it’s incumbent upon the economy, and we can find ways to make it happen,” he said. “People need something to look forward to in these stressful times.”
Picanco echoed a similar sentiment.
“My experience has been that there are so many families that go out there and just have a good time,” he said. “It’s a safe time for everybody, and it’s a family event. You’re celebrating the country’s history, and fireworks are very much part of the Fourth of July. I’m hopeful we can pull this off. Even if we don’t collect enough money for this year, if the community is still interested in having it, they need to contact me to get a committee formed and get it going in August.”
