Chamber Board President James Wallace accepts a donation from “Sparkles the Clown,” who came to town to help save the Independence Day Blast.
Sparkles the Clown accepts a donation from Pittsburg Insurance Agent Kimberly Mercer. The Chamber needs $7,500 more to fully fund the Independence Day Blast.
Chamber half way to saving Pittsburg Independence Blast
The Pittsburg-Camp County Chamber of Commerce met its three-day goal of raising half the seed money needed to keep the skies lit up over Pittsburg on July 4th.
The Chamber stepped in at the last hour to save the annual event that had been canceled when no other local organizations could not commit to bringing the event back for 2018.
The Chamber board voted at its regular meeting May 22 to resurrect the event on the condition that they could raise 50 percent of the seed money - $7,500 – by May 25. The price tag for a nearly 20-minute display would be $15,000.
Board President James Wallace said he was confident that the Chamber would be able to raise the funds, and by Friday, they had $7,000. The Chamber set up a GoFundMe campaign to allow individuals and businesses to donate. They also set up a booth at the Pittsburg Art & Wine Festival, where “Sparkles The Clown” came to town to encourage residents to give to the patriotic cause.
Chamber Executive Director Christine Jackson announced some exciting news about the event’s Parachute Bingo.
“If all of the parachute bingo tickets are sold, Mayor Shawn Kennington has agreed to jump and land on this year’s winning number,” she said.
Saving the event was a no-brainer for the Chamber leadership team. Jackson said Cypress Springs does a show on June 30, Gilmer has one planned for July 3, and people come from all over the area knowing that Pittsburg has always had a large show on Independence Day.
“It’s a big coup to have pyrotechnic display on the 4th of July,” Wallace said. “I just can’t imagine not having it. I know how special it is for the community.”
The Chamber has less than five weeks to raise the rest of the money to put on the fireworks show and is counting om those who have treasured it over the years will pitch in to fill the funding coffers for the 4th of July celebration.
Details on how to donate, purchase Parachute Bingo tickets, and to volunteer are in Jackson’s weekly “Your Chamber, Your Community” column on the Gazette’s Viewpoint page.