Batavia hits Web to fund fireworks; N. Aurora cancels holiday show

Batavia fireworks fundraisers have put a donation canister on the Internet.

The Batavia ACCESS committee, which runs the privately-paid-for Fourth of July show, started a Facebook group ("Friends of Batavia Fireworks") and the Web site BataviaFireworks.org to collect money. The Web site's banner, "555: 5 Minutes, 5 Friends, 5 Dollars," urges people to donate at least $5 online and to ask five friends, via e-mail, to do the same. Anyone who gives at least $100 will receive a U.S. flag, with embroidered stars and hand-stitched stripes, made by FlagSource, a Batavia company.

The committee has planned a citywide garage sale May 8 and 9. For $30, sellers are listed on maps, included in advertising and get sale signs. The registration form is on the Web site.

Meanwhile, the North Aurora village board Monday canceled its July 4 fireworks, to save money and show solidarity with residents making financial sacrifices. Instead, it will spend $2,500 more on a show during North Aurora Days in August, said Trustee Mark Gaffino, a liaison for the festival.

"We felt bad about it," he said. But fireworks cost 15 percent more this year, he said. Last year's July 4 show cost $20,000.

The consolation is that many North Aurorans can see Batavia and Aurora's fireworks from their homes. Aurora fires its from the Illinois Math and Science Academy, about a mile south of where North Aurora had its show, and Batavia shoots them off from the northwestern part of Mooseheart, about 2 miles north of North Aurora.