Wheeling will be forced to move fireworks show
Wheeling is reinventing its Fourth of July celebration, and prime among the changes is a new venue for fireworks.
Plans for the $100 million Town Center will eventually displace the show on the now vacant corner of Dundee Road and Northgate Parkway, where fireworks have launched above spectators on a grassy lawn by village hall.
Developers plan to finally break ground on what's billed as Wheeling's first downtown this summer. While the site may not exactly be a construction zone over the patriotic holiday, organizers want to relocate the display about three miles away to the Chicago Executive Airport July 3, the same date as the 2014 celebration.
Wheeling jointly owns the old Palwaukee airport with Prospect Heights, and both will team up for the event. The idea is to recover the costs through corporate sponsorships.
This week, Wheeling trustees approved an up to $25,000 contract with Indiana-based Melrose Pyrotechnics to light fireworks from the proposed launchpad at the former 94th Aero Squadron restaurant, a spot Village Manager Jon Sfondilis told the board in a memo will give crowds unobstructed views.
Sfondilis stressed organizers haven't decided what the event will look like, and they need to secure Federal Aviation Administration approval to temporarily shut down the airport's normal operations.
They also are working to book food trucks, another change to a celebration that has reincarnated several times over the years. Before the recession, the village's Freedom Fest spread live music and entertainment over several days. In 2012, the $38 million renovation of Heritage Park, a project also designed to alleviate flooding, grounded fireworks.
Heritage Park is still off the table because “the finished product is not really amenable to an event like this,” said Sfondilis. The park's artificial surfaces aren't conducive for shooting off fireworks, and it lacks the open space offered by the airport.
If it rains, the village would reschedule the show for Labor Day. Why not the Fourth? Melrose Pyrotechnics has commitments elsewhere, and organizers need ample time to find another location because the FAA is unlikely to agree to closing the airport again. Possible “rain date” sites include the Chevy Chase golf course.