Sparks fly over Clinton Lake
New venue for fireworks display still draws a crowd.
By Bryan Cisler (Contact)
Saturday, July 5th, 2008
Lawrence, KS — After years of holding their fireworks display at Burcham Park by the river, the city of Lawrence decided it was time for a change. This year on Fourth of July, thousands of people showed up to Clinton Lake to watch the fireworks.
Gary Saathoff, president of the Lawrence Jaycees, which organized the event, said it took a lot more work to bring the event to Clinton Lake, but the move was something that needed to be done.
“We were getting concerned that the park was getting overcrowded and being after dark you can get separated from your kids and we didn’t want anybody to get hurt,” Saathoff said. “We just want to be safe.”
Jeff Daniels, 2008 graduate, watched fireworks in Lawrence for the first time and liked what he saw.
“I thought it was a great event and I think events like this really bring the community together,” Daniels said.
The fireworks show lasted more than 40 minutes and the event drew more people than previous years, but not everybody was happy with the move to Clinton Lake. Hailey Travis, who came to see the fireworks, thought the event lacked the atmosphere it had in the past.
“Out here it just seems like we are seeing somebody else’s fireworks and we are in someone’s backyard,” Travis said.
Funding was tight for the event but organizers had hope for the future. Sherry Cannon, who helped with the event, said the organization wanted to bring in a rock band next year and hopefully add new food vendors.
“With growth always comes challenges so I think we are going to have a great place out here eventually, but it is going to take some time.” Cannon said.
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