Bridgefest committee to reschedule fireworks
Bridgefest committee to reschedule fireworks
By LAURA KIRBY, DMG Writer
HOUGHTON — Forward planning was to backfire on the Bridgefest Committee Saturday when fireworks already in place for the evening’s annual “Fireworks Extravaganza” were destroyed by afternoon rainstorms.
“They were set up and ready when the rains hit at about 6 p.m.,” said Bridgefest Board president Tim Halkola.
Winds shredded through tarps covering the fireworks with rubber cords and also through their tubed shrinkwrap covers, Halkola said.
“Everything got soaked, all ruined,” said Wynn Cramer, an event producer with Melrose Pyrotechnics, the company that provided the fireworks. The Indiana-based firm has catered shows for the Chicago Bulls and has been involved with Bridgefest for the past eight years.
But this year it would have been a safety risk, Cramer said.
“Even when that stuff dries you can’t use it,” he observed.
The estimated $8,000 to $10,000 cost for fireworks wasn’t lost by Bridgefest, being under Melrose Pyrotechnic’s liability insurance, Halkola added. The event will be rescheduled for later this summer, most likely in August so as not to interfere with July 4 celebrations.
“We are having a board meeting tomorrow to discuss when they are going to be,” Halkola said Monday.
Laura Kirby can be reached at lkirby@mininggazette.com
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