Sponsors still need $6,000 for Lake Marble Falls July Fourth fireworks
MARBLE FALLS — Organizers of the annual Marble Falls July Fourth fireworks display still need about $6,000 to get the show off the ground, officials said May 9.
Meanwhile, there will be a new launch pad for the annual display during the festivities at Lake Marble Falls."It has become a tradition to celebrate our nation’s independence with a fabulous fireworks show over Lake Marble Falls, one of our incredible local assets," said organizer Judy Miller.
For the second straight year, Miller is spearheading funding efforts for the Independence Day observance.
"We are planning a huge show that will be visible from many places around the lake or the hills," said Miller, a director of the Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce.
So far, private donations of more than $11,000 have come through the Highland Lakes Legacy Fund and other sponsors to help support the celebration, she added.
However, organizers aim to raise at least another $6,000 for the event, Miller said.
Miller expressed optimism the money would materialize.
"Our community will come through," she said.
Miller and sponsors want to avoid the situation in 2009, when the show was canceled for the first time in years.
The Chamber — which had sponsored the display since it began in 2001 — was forced to discontinue the fireworks in light of a state attorney general’s opinion that decreed hotel-motel tax funds couldn’t be used for fireworks displays.
The cost that year was estimated at $12,000-$15,000.
That left the Chamber without a funding source for the fireworks, which traditionally drew hundreds and even thousands of onlookers to watch the display.
In 2004, the Chamber paid for the entire fireworks display with hotel-occupancy tax
funds, but that was the last year. In 2005 and 2006, the Chamber paid half the bill and more than half in 2007 before the attorney general’s opinion was issued.
The Chamber and its members also paid for the entire cost of the display in 2008.
After the event was canceled in 2009, there were complaints from businesses and residents.
Miller and other volunteers began organizing to bring back the fireworks display to Marble Falls.
In 2010 she persuaded more than 50 businesses and individuals to contribute about $19,000 to revive the event.
"I felt I really could not complain about missing the fireworks if I did not do my best to make them happen again," Miller said. "We do enjoy the opportunity for our community to come together for some incredible entertainment and relaxation."
Not only did the fireworks return, but a daylight carnival was held featuring a rock-climbing wall, a moon bounce, martial arts and dance demonstrations and a dunking booth.
This year’s Fourth of July celebration begins with live music about 5 p.m. at the Lakeside Pavilion, 307 Buena Vista Drive, she said.
Organizers plan to light the fireworks about 9 p.m., Miller said.
The fireworks also will blast off from a new location this year across from Lakeside Park and the pavilion.
"The LaVentana Property Owners Association will let us to shoot the fireworks from their Property Owners Park this year," Miller said.
During recent years, the fireworks were ignited at a private residence on Old River Road near Lake Marble Falls, she said.
"The new location will allow for a slightly different setup," Miller said. "It will still provide excellent viewing from Lakeside Park."
Donations can be mailed to Marble Falls Community Fireworks, c/o Judy Miller, P.O. Box 158, Marble Falls, TX 78654.
Call (830) 613-0083 for more information.
Miller and her husband Bob own two businesses in Marble Falls, Out Back Party Rentals and Out Back Patio Furnishings, both at 2000 U.S. 281.