The Albany/Clinton County Chamber of Commerce has partnered with the Mountain View Park Board this Labor Day weekend to provide a fireworks show free of charge to anybody who wants to view them.

What started as a way to celebrate Independence Day, was postponed due to heavy rainfalls on July 4 and is now set to take place this weekend on Saturday, August 30.

Chamber of Commerce President Willard Johnson is excited about the event and during recent weeks, the chamber has added to the fireworks display with other events in order to make it an all day outing for everyone.

“I feel that with partnering with the park board or any group in the county, shows that people are willing to work together for the common good,” Johnson said. “The chamber hopes to bring in people from the lakes, and with it being the last holiday of the season, we hope to bring them in to show them what we have to offer other than the lakes.”

This year’s fireworks display is set to begin shortly after dusk around 9 p.m.

“With everybody watching, we expect at least 4,000 people,” Johnson said. “We should have people lined up on the by-pass because it’s adjacent to the park on the back side. I feel like it will be a good thing for the park because the cheerleaders will be there taking up donations for the park to purchase new playground equipment.”

The monies that fund the fireworks show comes from the Albany/Clinton County Chamber of Commerce and according to Johnson, the chamber is funded by memberships, so the businesses and other members of the chamber are responsible for the fireworks display.

“We use a lot of the membership funds to put on the fireworks show, so with the chamber being non-profit, that’s just our way of giving back to the community and businesses around Albany for their continued support to the chamber. We want to keep this close to Albany because all of our businesses have made this possible.” Johnson said. “

Last year, the fireworks were postponed due to dry weather and were displayed during the Foothills Festival. That event was such a success during the Foothills Festival, the Foothills committee has decided to add fireworks to its list of events during festival weekend in October.

In addition to the Chamber fireworks display this weekend, there will also be a car show earlier on Saturday.

“We are hoping the car show will also raise money for the park,” Johnson said. “All this is going to help the park and to purchase new playground equipment for the young people.”

“We hope that each year we can build on the event. The Fourth of July is designed to get people in off the lakes, but the only thing you have going on that night is the fireworks. With this, when we combine with the park, we are going to have some live singing and other things in order for us to kind of give back to the community,” Johnson said. “It also gives the park a way to raise money and I don’t mean to make this about money, but it takes money to operate and keep the park going. The playground equipment out there is well used and we want to continue to support it.”

Johnson said this Labor Day celebration could possibly become an annual event.

“Depending on the success this year, we may continue to make this an annual event,” Johnson said. “Which is why we need everybody to come out this weekend. Everybody we’ve talked to who has seen the fireworks has come back to see them the year after. It’s a time people can get together before cool weather gets here and it kind of headlines the Foothills Festival and it keeps people interested in what’s going on downtown.”

This year’s fireworks display will be put on by the same company which has set off the fireworks in the past. Johnson said spectators can expect a great show this year as well.

“These fireworks will get higher than normal, so you will be able to see them from a good distance away,” Johnson said. “They will be very visible from Albany and probably all the way down as far as Cumberland Corner Mart.”

Melrose Pyrotechnics is the name of the company that puts on the show and Johnson said one of the reasons Albany has continued to use them for the fireworks display is because safety is their main concern.

“They are fully insured and they keep safety at the highest level. They are professionals and we feel that they are very safe,” Johnson said.

The fireworks display isn’t something that has been thrown together in the past couple of weeks. The Albany/Clinton County Chamber of Commerce has been planning this event for some time and are always looking to improve the event.

“We are already planning next year’s event,” Johnson said. “We are going to see how this event goes during this time frame. I would also like to mention, from the chamber’s point of view, we have a new employee, April Speck, who is a partner with the Hometown Healthy Coalition and she is doing a great job with the chamber and helping with this year’s event. She will also be a huge help on next year’s event.”

Johnson said anybody can become a member of the chamber and it’s not just limited to business owners.

“As the chamber grows, our businesses grow and our county grows,” Johnson said. “If you are a business or an individual and you want to be a part of the chamber, you can … anybody can join.”

Being a member of the Albany/Clinton County Chamber of Commerce has many benefits for businesses and individuals that join.

“We have a website and a Facebook page, along with a booth at the state fair every year,” Johnson said. “We promote your business. If somebody calls from Ohio and wants to know where they can buy certain items, we have someone there who can tell them. That’s why it’s feasible to be a member of the chamber … if someone calls and wants to know where they can stay in the area, we can tell them where to go.”

For more information on the Albany/Clinton County Chamber of Commerce, log on to www.albanyclintonco.com or visit the Facebook page.