The thousands of people who showed up for the Towson-area's annual Fourth of July fireworks this year didn't realize they might have been witnessing the end of a 40-year tradition.
A January deadline is looming to determine if the fireworks will survive into 2012.
It costs the Associates of Loch Raven Village community association nearly $10,000 each year to stage the fireworks on the grounds of Loch Raven Technical Academy, according to Gretchen Sarkin, association president.
"We have to commit no later that the beginning of January," said Sarkin, who signs the contract on behalf of the association, which represents 1,465 homes. Only a third pay annual dues, which are $40, or $30 for seniors, she said.
"The July 4 fireworks are near and dear to the hearts of many in the area," she said. "You get to see people you don't normally see. It brings us all together."
But the contract may go unsigned in January unless residents, area business people, surrounding communities and individuals chip in money — and maybe manpower, too.
Sarkin said for the coming year, the association board may have to resort to making the contract contingent on how much money the association is able to raise, though she's not sure the fireworks provider will accept those terms.
"If we don't have the financial support for the 2012 celebration, this tradition cannot continue," she said.
And canceling the 2012 fireworks this year could mean no fireworks in future years, she said.
"The school system is not happy about having us there, but we are grand fathered in," she said. "If we skip a year, more than likely we would lose the school site on LaSalle Road."
There's also pressure from another angle, according to Leslie Jackson-Vallade, who chairs the fireworks display for the association.
"Yes, the fireworks are very popular with the community," she said, noting the display draws not only Village residents but crowds from Towson, Parkville and other areas of the county, as well as from Baltimore City, "but some board members don't think we should be paying for the display. They'd rather see dues money spent on maintaining and improving the Village."
'Signature thing' in the community
The fireworks have always been a community-sponsored event. They were initially held on Luskins Hill, with the Loch Raven Business Association and the Loch Raven Kiwanis picking up the tab — about $3,000 or $4,000.
After the Luskin's store closed, the fireworks moved to what is now Loch Raven Academy, and since 2004 the associates have paid the bill, which is now $10,000, including insurance.
It not an easy thing for a community group to commit to the money and manpower for an event like this, said Loch Raven activist Donna Spicer.
"You're going to see fewer and fewer community groups willing to work like this," Spicer said. "They need all the help they can get."
Jackson-Vallade inherited responsibility for the fireworks by default, just like the association did. She joined the association board in 2007 when she was working for Citibank in Timonium, and suggested the bank adopt the fireworks as its community project that year.
Citibank donated $4,000. After that, the association looked at her not only as their treasurer, but as their fireworks point person.
She ran a 50-50 raffle two years ago and held a successful pancake fundraiser at Applebee's, but even with her husband as a willing helper, "you can only do so much," she said. "It would be nice to have a corporate sponsor."
She thoroughly enjoys the fireworks despite the time and effort that has to be put in to make them happen.
"After the first rocket goes off, I can exhale, and all I have to worry about is cleaning up the next day," she said.
"This is a signature thing our neighborhood does," Jackson-Vallade said. "It's worth keeping. But it's not a sure thing next year."
Those wishing to make a donation my do so by check, earmarked "fireworks" and made out to Associates of Loch Raven Village. Send to P.O. Box 9721, Baltimore, MD 21284. For more details, call Leslie Jackson-Vallade at 443-519-9388.