Pittsburg fireworks display draws rave reviews

First the city of Pittsburg made the difficult decision to cut the annual July 4 fireworks display because of budget concerns. A grassroots effort raised around $30,000, which solved that problem.
Saturday morning rains cleared away, but a quick cloudburst around 8 p.m. caused more concern that the fireworks would have to be postponed, perhaps until Labor Day.
The sudden deluge did cause the cancellation of a concert by local band Area 51.
“The band was entirely set up and excited to play when the deluge of rain blew in,” said Jon Bartlow, band member. “Although it cleared out quickly, the stage at the J.J. Richards Band Dome was left with standing water and our electrical equipment was soaked, posing a severe threat of electrical shock to band members. We’re very sorry we were unable to perform, but we’ll be playing during Little Balkans Days over the Labor Day weekend.”
Fortunately, the fireworks show did come off as scheduled, and earned rave reviews from spectators.
“I think it was fantastic — better than last year,” said Kathy Fox, whose birthday is July 4.
“The finale was great,” added Janice Evans. “Just listen to all the people clapping.”
Steve Shepherd, Pittsburg, recalled that he had come to Lincoln Park 40 years ago when he was dating his future wife, Karen.
“We watched the fireworks together for the first time, and we’ve come just about every year after that,” he said. “Pittsburg has one of the nicest fireworks displays I’ve ever seen, and I’m truly glad they were able to save the show. We’re fortunate the community could band together.”
Shepherd had a few concerns that the show might not be up to past standards, but afterwards said that it was one of the best fireworks shows he had seen in years.
Brandon Belew, Pittsburg, launched the grassroots effort to save the show, and Sheree Perez of Sammy’s Cab volunteered her efforts to help with fundraising.
After the show, she was brushing away tears  of  happiness.
“It was so beautiful, just overwhelming,” Perez said. “Everybody in Pittsburg had something to do with saving the fireworks. I knew Pittsburg could pull together and do it, that’s what I love about this community.”
Belew agreed that all the people making individual donations was a big factor in the success of the fundraising campaign. “People say that I should get credit, but I don’t want any credit,” he said. “I wanted to see things blow up.”
He saw  27 minutes of that during the show, and was impressed.
“It was a great show, well worth all the work and the money,” Belew said. “Those 12-inch fireworks shells were awesome — they even sounded different, went up higher and rained down on people. Can you imagine what it would be like if we could have 16-inch shells?”

Below is a video clip of the show: