Fireworks to Provide Flare for Ellwood City

Fireworks will light up the night sky on Friday, July 2, beginning at 9:45 p.m.

The Zambelli display will be set off at Stiefel Park this year.

Organizer Eric Rayner said the fireworks were made possible at the last minute by Visit Lawrence County, which donated $1,000, Ellwood City Forge with a $2,000 donation, the Ellwood City Area Chamber of Commerce providing a $500 donation, and the Festival Committee is picking up the tab for the police presence.

He said Dan Vogler and Lawrence County Commissioners were monumental in helping him find the right organizations to make the event possible.

“These funds helps us pay for this year’s fireworks and to help fund a fundraiser next year,” Rayner said.

Rayner offered a tip. He said the fireworks can best be viewed in the vicinity of Giant Eagle.

Word Alive Church will open their parking lot for viewing the fireworks.

Rayner said the fireworks would not be possible without the help of the public, local businesses and organizations, and local officials.

“Thank you for the ongoing support,” he said.

Rayner will forever be known as the man on a mission to save the Festival fireworks. He wasn’t going to let the 2019 Festival go on without the beloved fireworks. He refused to settle for it. So Rayner rallied the community with a goal of raising $5,000 to save the display. Not only did he meet the goal … he more than doubled it, raising $11,230.

His charismatic approach to inspiring others was not lost in the dollars and cents and money matters of the fundraiser. His step-up-and-do-something attitude earned Rayner an induction into the Ellwood City Arts, Crafts, Food, and Entertainment Festival Hall of Fame

Also, On June 28, 2019, Mayor Anthony J. Court presented a proclamation to Eric Rayner, declaring that June 30, 2019, as Eric Rayner Day in Ellwood City.