There will be fireworks lighting up the July 3, 2016 sky in Sturtevant.
Trustee Carrie Harbach told Racine County Eye that with the money raised from the sale of almost 300, $100 raffle tickets and fundraising events like the annual Santa dinner in December and pancake breakfast at Easter, the village will sign a contract for a fireworks display next summer.
“There will be fireworks in Sturtevant next summer,” she said. “We are not planning a family festival as in year’s past at this point.”
For the last several years, the July 3 festival included food vendors, a tent with a live band, bouncy houses and the fireworks display at a cost of around $28,000. The fireworks display itself can cost between $10,000 and $15,000.
Harbach said the family festival is not a financial issue; it’s a volunteer-personnel matter.
“I know we could have a family festival, but we don’t have the committee necessary to pull it all together,” she added. “Many of us who have been doing this for so many years are just burned out so residents from Sturtevant and outside the village would need to come forward to make it happen.”
The fireworks committee in April started selling 50/50 raffle tickets for $100. Because fewer than the 300 tickets available were sold, the total jackpot might be less than $30,000, but the winner will walk away with $15,000. The remaining money will help pay for the 2016 fireworks.
Holding the raffle was Village President Steve Jansen’s idea, and he said he knew tickets sales would be challenge, but in the end, the fireworks are a go next year.
“It was a challenge,” he acknowledged. “While not completely successful, it does give us a benchmark moving forward. The bottom line is that it’s looking more and more like the fireworks will be returning in 2016.”
Labor Day was the last day to buy tickets, and the drawing will be Sept. 15 during the regularly scheduled village board meeting. While she didn’t have a complete count of raffle tickets sold, Harbach said there will be $15,000 for the lucky ticket holder and the fireworks fund will get whatever is left in the pot.
“Odds are a little better than 300-to-one,” she noted. “I’ll have a better idea Tuesday of how many tickets were actually sold and how much will go to the fireworks.”