The deadline for organizing next year’s Thunder in the Valley fireworks show is fast approaching, said Mayor Blair Painter.
“If we’re serious about this we need to get on it,” said Painter at a governance and priorities meeting on Sept. 9, where council and administration discussed organizational efforts for Thunder in the Valley 2015.
Options included handing over the festival to the Economic Development Committee, hiring an outside contractor, contacting the Smoke Eaters or enlisting Doors Open and Heritage Festival organizers.
Painter said time is running out to order fireworks from Europe as it takes several months to get it to the Pass.
“In past, by the end of January to the first week of February is a deadline to have product brought over from Europe for the event,” said Painter. “[If] left any longer, most of the product is already picked up for Canada Day and we’re just getting the leftovers.”
Councillor Marlene Anctil said their first step should be contacting the Smoke Eaters to see if they’d be interested in putting on the show.
Councillor Bill Kovach and Painter were in agreement that the Smoke Eaters own the rights to the Thunder in the Valley brand.
“Putting on an event called Thunder in the Valley without the Smoke Eaters [could] not happen,” said Painter. “We could put on another fireworks event but we’d have to call it something different.”
Council also discussed enlisting the Economic Development Committee or hiring an outside contractor but decided Thunder would be too difficult a task for the former and that hiring an outsider would be unfair to other volunteer groups.
“It wouldn’t be fair to the other committees to hire someone to put on Thunder in the valley,” said Councillor Doreen Glavin. “It would cause upset to our volunteer groups.”
CAO Sheldon Steinke suggested recruiting the organizers of the Doors Open and Heritage Festival to adopt the summer fireworks festival.
“They’ve already targeted a weekend where the event goes on and its being advertised,” said Steinke. “Instead of trying to start a new committee [lets] take a committee that’s working and has had success this year and seeing if they want to expand.”
In 2012, the council of the day voted to defer Thunder in the Valley to allow for time to reorganize the event, which brought approximately 30,000 people into the community for one night every year.