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4th annual Fourth the biggest yet
Generous Elgin residents, businesses and volunteers came together this Independence Day to support the city’s veterans and give its people the brightest fireworks display possible.
Hundreds turned out for the fourth annual Fourth of July celebration and were treated to a spectacle without cost for its host, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 6115.
“We didn’t want VFW to pay for anything,” Tiffany Finley said, event organizer.
Between “patriotic piggy” T-shirt and cupcake sales, raffles and vendor fees, the team raised over $3,000 for the grand display. The rest of the event’s costs were paid for through donations and sales from Finley’s Festive Fireworks, offering out “the cheapest fireworks in Elgin.”
Alongside local business sponsors such as Frontier Bank, Rush Chevrolet, The UPS Store, The Elgin Funeral Home and Edward Jones, several individuals came forward with generous contributions.
While the celebration ran smoothly for the most part, according to Finley, a minor “glitch” in the affair started off the fireworks show prematurely, skipping over the National Anthem.
“The amount of people that showed up was more than we ever expected, which is amazing, but we also saw where we could make improvements for next year,” Finley added.
Parking also became a slight issue with the boost in attendance, according to the organizer.
Before the sky was set alit for a full 15 minutes, the city came together to enjoy some good music, food and games. Water slides were set up for children to cool off in and the air-conditioned venue was host to custom sellers and a silent auction.
The VFW auxiliary, auction host, raised over $800 to be put towards programs that help in-need veterans and their families.
Feedback from event vendors stated they were busy the entire day, a good sign for things to come.
“We can’t wait to do this again next year and make it even better,” Finley said. “We hope this will grow to be a staple in the community like Hogeye or Western Days.”
