Community Corner

More Donations Necessary To Keep Montauk Fireworks Airborne

Nearly $16,000 more is required to make up the current deficit.

It could be lights out for the annual Montauk fireworks display if the community doesn't step up in a big way.

The , which organizes the Fourth of July tradition, is short about $15,600 -- more than half of what it takes to fund the show.

According to Laraine Creegan, the chamber director, the decades long Fourth of July show over the ocean cost about $27,000 to put on this year; Fireworks by Grucci gets $22,500 and the insurance fee and related expenses, such as post-marked donation requests adds on $4,500 more.

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As of mid-August, only $11,800 in donations has been received.

The larger than usual deficit this year is threatening the fireworks display's future, Creegan said.

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Since East Hampton Village permanently moved its fireworks show to Labor Day due to the nesting Piping Plovers a few years ago, the Montauk show is the only fireworks show done on the actual July Fourth holiday.

"It's actually been a struggle the last several years," chamber president Paul Monte said of fundraising.

The cost of the fireworks show had been around $16,000, but swelled in recent years to $30,000 in 2010. "We got them down to $22,000," Creegan said.

The chamber will have to fund the deficit if it doesn't receive the full amount from the business and residential community, Monte said.

Creegan said the funding will come out of the chamber's general operating fund. However, she said, that will take away from other chamber efforts, like advertising and scholarships.

The fireworks are, of course, a big draw to Montauk. When the holiday falls on a weekend, it brings 30,000 to 40,000 people out for the show, while if it falls on a weekday, like this year, it brings about 20,000 to 25,000, Creegan said.

But the Fourth of July is already a busy weekend in Montauk. Creegan said she thinks, "It's more of a tradition than anything else."

Monte agreed: "Montauk on the Fourth of July still is a traditional American beach town."

A few years back, the fireworks show was post-poned to October due to rain and the year after, it remained in the first full month of fall. The outcry from the community was huge, Creegan said. "They want the Fourth of July fireworks on the fourth."

"People probably don't even stop to think how much money this takes to do," Monte said. "We just need to get the word out. We would love to continue to do it, but it takes money."

He suggested the chamber may have to reach out to corporate sponsors, a direction he fears may detract from the small town feel. "We would like to keep the chamber events up by a grassroots effort."

While the chamber hopes for large donations to quickly make up the deficit, Monte said any amount is appreciated. To make a donation visit the chamber's website.


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