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The Fourth of July creeps up on us, explodes — literally — with a weekend of gunpowder and grilled meat, then fades quietly into the ether. The odd, leftover exploding firecrackers echo as the only reminder the holiday was even here.
People show up for cookouts, sports tournaments, music and fireworks displays, then head right back to work. What they don’t see, though, are the months of tireless effort put forth by the people who stage the events.
From Pittsburg to Girard and on to Crawford State Lake, officials have spent countless hours to assure their one- to three-day events go off smoothly.
“It takes months of planning,” said Pittsburg Parks and Rec Director Kim Vogel. “You have to plan out well before January what days you’re going to use. Are you going to have it just on the Fourth? The second? The third?”
Vogel said that by March her office is sending out letters to craft and food vendors. As the holiday creeps closer and the list of likely participants begins to take shape, she begins the tedious task of scheduling events.
“We’ll look at what worked last time and what didn’t, and try to figure out which days we’re going to offer certain events,” Vogel said.
The work can be daunting, Vogel said. Not only must she figure out how many days the city will offer events — a one-day event would be almost too crammed, she said — she has to start contacting potential bands to fill the J.J. Richards Band Dome each night, begin taking registrations for events, and make sure she has enough workers to staff them. Then there are logistics to tackle; preparing the park; making sure there is running water, and electricity for generators and lights at the band dome; and making sure the park grounds are ready for people to drive on and walk through them. And don’t forget working with local businesses to secure sponsorships and donations, and coordinating with health departments and the law.
“We also have to make sure the vendors get licensed, taxes are taken care of, and the fireworks are ready,” Vogel said. “Then the crew has to rope off the golf course area so people can’t get on.”
Over in Girard, the Smoking Hot BBQ & Fireworks event is in its first year, and the city’s Fourth of July celebration is moving to the Crawford County Fairgrounds from Wutke Park for the first time.
The Fourth of July creeps up on us, explodes — literally — with a weekend of gunpowder and grilled meat, then fades quietly into the ether. The odd, leftover exploding firecrackers echo as the only reminder the holiday was even here.
People show up for cookouts, sports tournaments, music and fireworks displays, then head right back to work. What they don’t see, though, are the months of tireless effort put forth by the people who stage the events.
From Pittsburg to Girard and on to Crawford State Lake, officials have spent countless hours to assure their one- to three-day events go off smoothly.
“It takes months of planning,” said Pittsburg Parks and Rec Director Kim Vogel. “You have to plan out well before January what days you’re going to use. Are you going to have it just on the Fourth? The second? The third?”
Vogel said that by March her office is sending out letters to craft and food vendors. As the holiday creeps closer and the list of likely participants begins to take shape, she begins the tedious task of scheduling events.
“We’ll look at what worked last time and what didn’t, and try to figure out which days we’re going to offer certain events,” Vogel said.
The work can be daunting, Vogel said. Not only must she figure out how many days the city will offer events — a one-day event would be almost too crammed, she said — she has to start contacting potential bands to fill the J.J. Richards Band Dome each night, begin taking registrations for events, and make sure she has enough workers to staff them. Then there are logistics to tackle; preparing the park; making sure there is running water, and electricity for generators and lights at the band dome; and making sure the park grounds are ready for people to drive on and walk through them. And don’t forget working with local businesses to secure sponsorships and donations, and coordinating with health departments and the law.
“We also have to make sure the vendors get licensed, taxes are taken care of, and the fireworks are ready,” Vogel said. “Then the crew has to rope off the golf course area so people can’t get on.”
Over in Girard, the Smoking Hot BBQ & Fireworks event is in its first year, and the city’s Fourth of July celebration is moving to the Crawford County Fairgrounds from Wutke Park for the first time.
“Months of work went into preparing for it,” said Christy Vulgamore, director of the event committee. Vulgamore said the committee started preparations back in April, including getting licensed by the Kansas City Barbecue Society to host the pulled-pork challenge that has drawn more than 30 entrances.
“Since then we’ve worked with area businesses to get sponsors, worked with area companies to help provide advertising and signage, and the Crawford County Fair Board had to approve us to have the event there,” Vulgamore continued. “Then there’s a waiting game to see if teams signed up for the barbecue.”
Just like Pittsburg, the event committee had to coordinate with the fireworks company, get the proper county permits, and coordinate with law enforcement, fire and health departments.
The situation is much the same at Crawford State Lake, where director Dave Goble said planning has been ongoing for months.
“Teamwork,” Goble said of what it takes to pull off an event where more than 500 cars are expected. “We’ve done it for a number of years, so we’ve kind of got a playbook.”
Goble also puts rangers on the lake to make sure boaters are following safety rules and maintaining a safe distance from the fireworks exclusion zone.
“If a mortar tube shoots tips over and shoots sideways, that’d be a bad day,” he said.
When the spectacles are finished, the task of cleaning up the mess begins.
“We’ll have people picking up all weekend,” Vogel said.
Vulgamore echoed Vogel’s sentiment.
“Cleanup takes a whole day,” Vulgamore said. “The city used to do it, but it probably will fall on volunteers this year (because of budget constraints).”
Goble said his crews don’t waste any time the next day.
“We’ll have four to five guys here first thing, picking up every scrap of trash and washing out the shelters,” he said. “It’s a special event and we enjoy having all the folks out, but it’s probably our most labor intensive project.”
