Local Man’s Quest to Save Fireworks Ignites

Eric Rayner’s plan to rally the community to save the festival fireworks has been officially backed by the Ellwood City Arts Crafts and Foods Festival Committee.

Rayner, 26, of Ellport, met with the committee on Wednesday evening to present his plan of action in the hopes of getting the committee’s “approval.” Although the committee offered Eric their support they are not hosting or leading the fundraiser. They have however agreed to host the fireworks, pay for the insurance, traffic control and grounds keeping for the fireworks event if the community raises the money needed to implement the display.

Upon hearing about the cancellation of the fireworks, Rayner stepped up with a Facebook campaign to gain community support to save the fireworks. On April 7 he approached the Ellwood City Area School District Board to see if the use of Helling Stadium was still a possibility. With the board’s nod and full support, Rayner turned his efforts to gaining the support of the Festival Committee.

“I’m grateful for all the kind words of the festival committee and their willingness to permit me to do this. It was a great experience working with them, and I believe we are all excited to see the community joining together to save this amazing tradition”

Rayleen Boots, Festival Committee Chair, agreed with Rayner’s dedication to tradition and applauded his efforts.

“The committee is very grateful that he is stepping up,” she said. “One of the things that have come from this situation is that we can see a community that is full of support.”

Boots said canceling the fireworks this year was not a long-term solution, rather a short-term solution to keeping the festival going.

“Next year will be the 40th year,” She said. “I look forward to the festival every year. I also want to be able to look forward to the 50th year.”

Boots said the committee is very careful with finances because they don’t want to the see the festival come to an end like other community events that suffered that fate.

“We would never cut anything that we don’t have to,” she said.

Boots hopes that this will be a one-time solution explaining that when cuts are necessary those cuts are made to entertainment because they are not “fixed costs,” which would include items such as insurance and other necessities that are required in order to have the festival.

“I love the festival,” she said. “And I love the fireworks.”

Rayner’s mission is gaining traction among the community. Many have liked and shared his Facebook videos as well as a page he started: “Save the Ellwood City Fireworks 2019.”

His next steps are to solidify his plan of action by setting up the appropriate donation channels. He plans to have options for donating including online options, ability to donate at a local bank (to an account set up specifically for the fireworks), as well as a local donation drop off event. Details about where donations can be made will be announced soon. Rayner also plans to sell T-shirts to raise money.

In his plan, Rayner has a contingency clause in case the necessary $5,000 cannot be raised in time for the event as well as if more money is raised. It states that if the community is not successful in raising the $5,000 at the end of the June 2, 2019 deadline, a smaller fireworks display option would be explored. If that is not possible, the money will be saved for next year’s fireworks. Should more money be raised than needed, some of that money will be used to purchase a bigger show for the 2019 festival and then another portion will be saved for next year’s fireworks.

To follow Rayner’s progress, learn more about his plan, and where to donate, follow his page Save the Ellwood City Fireworks 2019.