Greencastle 4th of July fireworks moved to Big Walnut Sports Park

In a year dominated locally by road construction, it’s somehow fitting that construction will cause changes to one of Greencastle’s signature summer events.

Celebrate 4, the annual community Fourth of July fireworks and a fixture at Robe-Ann Park since its inception during the 1976 American Bicentennial celebration, will be moved to Big Walnut Sports Park on the city’s East Side this year.

Surprisingly, the issue isn’t road construction but the ongoing construction of Phase II of the Robe-Ann Park renovation being undertaken by Feutz Contractors Inc., Paris, Ill. The work will not be done in time to assure the safety of spectators descending upon the park for the fireworks display that annually draws several thousand people to Robe-Ann.

Consequently, the Greencastle Park Board, convening Monday night in a make-up session for last Wednesday’s canceled meeting, took action on a motion from board member Doug Hutchison to move the event to Big Walnut Sports Park for this year.

Park Director Greg Ruark said he will be meeting with city police and fire officials about specifics of the set-up for the July 4 fireworks, noting that the fireworks could possibly be set off inside one of the baseball fields to provide a safe distance for spectators.

The April eclipse event at the sports park served as a dress rehearsal of sorts for the fireworks extravaganza with what organizers learned about traffic flow, parking, food truck locations and more.

Ruark was asked about the possibility of bringing in a stage for the musical performers during the festivities.

“I don’t anticipate an issue with the music and performers,” he said, noting that instead of a stage, there likely will be a roped-off area for performers and spectators.

That area would have to have access to power for the performers to plug into.

“Judging by the number of people out there for the eclipse, there is plenty of space and places for people to hang out,” Park Board President Cathy Merrell said of the temporary site.

The annual Rokicki 5K Run and Civic League pancake breakfast are also expected to be moved to Big Walnut for this year.

However, the Greencastle Aquatic Center is still planning to be open for its annual free swimming day from noon to 4 p.m. on July 4.

Meanwhile, Park Recreation Director Ashley Crady reported that she has had 12 food trucks commit to the event, including four or five new offerings.

“It looks like you’ve got a good start on moving it over there,” Board President Merrell responded, noting that the next Park Board meeting will be the day before the holiday on Wednesday, July 3 at 6 p.m.

In a related matter, the Park Board also approved a contract with Mortonville Fireworks and owner Jeffrey D. Watson for the fireworks show, agreeing that should a rain date be needed it would be Saturday, July 6.

Cost of the fireworks show was listed at $12,500, more than covered by $10,700 remaining from previous donations and $6,500 raised thus far this year by the Celebrate 4 and Friends of the Park group.

Board member Tim Trigg made the motion to accept the fireworks contract, which was unanimously approved.

Other items included during the 90-minute Park Board meeting will be covered in a later article.