Picture-perfect weather keeps events on schedule for first time in three years

The eighth Annual Fireworks Celebration proved to be the biggest event in its history this year with thousands of people viewing the 9:00 p.m. spectacle from a host of locations at and surrounding the Mountain View Recreation Park.

With the 4th falling on a Friday and combined with absolutely picture-perfect weather conditions, the local Independence Day celebration was more than the success hoped for by organizers.

Other than the abundance of numbers at the fireworks portion of the event, additional events throughout the day also saw an increase in numbers, both participants and spectators, including the car show, gospel singing and the use of the inflatables by children.

Mountain View Park Board and Chamber of Commerce member Jay Garner was extremely pleased with the crowd on hand for the Friday holiday.

“It was probably the best and biggest Fourth of July Celebration the chamber has ever had,” Garner said. “The fireworks were great, big car show, the gospel singing was super.”

This year’s fireworks show lasted 22 minutes according to Garner.

“The ideal show usually last 20-30 minutes so we were right in there as far as time is concerned,” Garner said.

With access to Mountain View Park, as well as the middle school, Garner said there were “thousands upon thousands” who came out for the show.

“There were probably 2,000 people at the park alone,” Garners said. “The middle school was covered up, the high school was the same way. I heard a lot of them used the grassy area at the high school and the by-pass was wall to wall.”

Also making a public debut was the Clinton County Alumni Band. Garner said they put on a great show and he wished they could have played longer.

“People couldn’t get enough of them. They’ve only been practicing about six weeks and they were super good,” Garner said. “I enjoyed listening to them myself.”

Before the Alumni Band took the stage, several people were on hand to take in the gospel singing. Garner said all the singers did an amazing job.

Not to take anything away from the Clinton County Fairgrounds, which has been the location of the fireworks display for the first six of the eight years the Chamber of Commerce has been putting on the show, but Garner thinks the park is more “user friendly” for the public.

“It also benefits two groups, the chamber and the park,” Garner said. “Both organizations help each other and that also makes it less work. The park collected a lot of funds to go toward new playground equipment, which is good and will help future generations.”

With next year’s July 4th holiday falling on a Saturday, Garner hopes to expand on this year’s success.

“We are hoping to expand it more next year. I would like to see it become a full day get-together,” Garner said. “We are looking at a color run and possibly a cornhole tournament. We will plan for next year during the next six months and then it will take another six months to actually put it together, so we have several ideas on other items to add to the celebration.”

Garner said the idea for the event is to have something for everybody.

In order to put a celebration day together, the event relies on numerous volunteers. On hand for Friday’s event was the Albany Fire Department, Mountain View Park Board, Albany/Clinton County Chamber of Commerce and several other individuals who come together to make it possible.

“I would like to thank all the sponsors personally and from the chamber and park board,” Garner said. “Without them it would not be possible.”

This year’s fireworks show lasted 22 minutes according to Garner.

“The ideal show usually last 20-30 minutes so we were right in there as far as time is concerned,” Garner said.

Last week’s event was the first time in three years that the program has been held according to schedule, with the previous two years’ being altered due to inclement, but completely opposite, weather conditions.

Two years ago, in 2012, the fireworks production was postponed due to extremely dry conditions that forced officials to implement a “burn ban” across the county, which in turn forced organizers of the July 4 celebration to postpone the fireworks show.

On the exact other end of the scale, last year’s fireworks show was halted just prior to the gates being opened after the area was experiencing torrential rainfall that saw over five inches of rain falling in Clinton County during the weekend.