One Reel: No Lake Union fireworks this year

One Reel, producer of the annual Fourth of July fireworks show on Lake Union, announced today that there will be no fireworks show this year.

The reason? One Reel has been unable to find a corporate sponsor for the show.

From One Reel's announcement on its web site:

For the past 15 months, One Reel has worked tirelessly to secure a title sponsor for the 2010 Family 4th at Lake Union but, regrettably, we were not able to secure one in time to proceed with this year’s event. For that reason, it is with a heavy heart we announce there will be no fireworks or festivities at Gas Works Park this year.

We understand the disappointment you must feel; we feel it too. However, I can assure you that One Reel is already hard at work searching for a new title sponsor who shares our commitment to presenting this beloved community event in Seattle next year, and long into the future. 

Ivar's, which had sponsored the Elliott Bay fireworks display for 44 years, dropped its support for the show last year, which left the Lake Union display as the only Fourth of July fireworks in the city. The Seattle Times says an Ivar's spokesperson says the company has no plans to begin sposoring fireworks again.

This year, there will be NO large fireworks displays inside Seattle's city limits. The Seattle Times says it's the first time in 46 years that Seattle hasn't had a July 4 fireworks display. The Times also quotes One Reel as saying it cost about $500,000 to produce the show.

After Ivar's dropped its sponsorship of the Elliot Bay show last year, neighborhoods around Lake Union, including Eastlake, braced for an expected onslaught of fireworks fans. But, negative publicity about the expected crush of crowds seemed to work to keep the numbers down and the Fourth didn't seem any more crazed than usual.

At SeattlePI.com, Monica Guzman is quoting One Reel spokesperson Mikhael Mei Williams as saying that there still could be fireworks if a sponsor turns up in the next week or so.

Washington Mutual had sponsored the Lake Union show for the previous eight years. After WaMu was closed and sold, J.P. Morgan/Chase, the bank's new owners, continued the sponsorship for 2009. But they announced after July 4 that they wouldn't sponsor again in 2010.

What do you think? Glad we won't have fireworks, and the annual invasion of fireworks fans? Or disappointed? Post your thoughts in the comments to this post.

Shots of the 2009 fireworks show can be seen on our video:

Previous | x of x | Next

A scene from last year's Lake Union fireworks (Lucas Anderson/Neighborlogs photo)