Go Fourth Lewes thanks community

Go Fourth Lewes is thrilled to put our third July 4th fireworks in the books. It is a lot of planning, a lot of money to raise, and a lot of moving parts to manage, but seeing the joy of our locals and visitors makes it worth the effort! The magical moment when everyone went silent to watch the first rocket burst and then commenced with the fireworks “oohs and aahs” was pretty special. We sincerely thank every person who donated at gofourthlewes.org to fund our display, read the advice on our website about getting into town and viewing the fireworks, and patiently negotiated the crowd. This was truly a memorable night, as we moved out of a dark time to celebrate America’s birthday together, with pyrotechnics and community spirit glowing.

We thank every city worker and first responder, both professional employees and volunteers, who worked on July 4th to make traffic flow, keep people safe, and keep Lewes clean on the busiest day of the year. This joint effort takes well over a hundred team members! Thank you to Chief Tom Spell of the Lewes PD for planning and managing the logistics and team to move an incredible number of people in and out of the beach and downtown safely. This herculean feat gets better every year! Special shout out to Rick Melendez and his team from the City of Lewes Streets Department for getting trash off the beach and streets, all day long. We are always grateful to the fine Lewes Fire Department who assist us with emergency personnel and turn out a great group of volunteers every year.   We could not have this event without the logistic and public safety support of the City of Lewes, Sussex County Emergency Operations team, and those named above. Thank you to all who participate in the Go Fourth Meetings throughout the year, especially Lewes Mayor Ted Becker who coordinates so much for the big day, and Betsy Reamer from the Lewes Chamber of Commerce who serves as secretary for this group.

We couldn’t do this without our generous donors, who are listed at gofourthlewes.org/2020-21-donors and so appreciate the annual DQ Dash, organized by Ashley Diehl and the Seashore Striders. This event raised a whopping $9,000, even when we weren’t 100 percent sure there would even be fireworks this year! Thanks to everyone who helped us make the 2021 fireworks happen with your generosity. We hope you loved the night as much as we did. 

As we look forward to July 4th, 2022, we also want to let Lewes know how our fireworks are planned and funded. 2021 was an unusual year. We followed up our cancelled 2020 fireworks in uncertainty, not knowing if we could proceed until the special-event restrictions were eased in May 2021. Due to both time constraints and sensitivity to the financial hardships so many faced last year, we chose not to do a fundraising solicitation campaign or advertising. Fortunately, we pulled it off with a grassroots push! We do not want to worry about funds for next year. So, as we pay off our bills for the 2021 fireworks, we are now seeking donations for 2022 to pay deposits for next year’s fireworks. The fireworks cost in excess of $75,000 which includes our fabulous fireworks from Schaeffer Fireworks, the barge they are launched from, the tugboat Grape Ape that safely transports the barge and fireworks from Chester, Pa., practical costs like comfort stations, plus the costs for emergency services and the personnel that work on the 4th. Otherwise, this is a volunteer effort, and we are asking for your help, large or small, to make the fireworks fly over the bay every year. Go Fourth Lewes is truly a “For the People! By the People!” event. We are not funded by the City of Lewes, the Lewes Chamber of Commerce, or any other agency. It is just us, asking you to chip in.  Please visit gofourthlewes.org to donate.