Chain O’ Lakes Fireworks ready for its fourth season Saturday night over Fox Lake
If you missed Fourth of July fireworks because of the heat, you have another chance to catch an aerial display Saturday with the fourth annual Chain O’ Lakes Fireworks over Fox Lake.
Noreen Michael, director of the organization, said $15,000 has been raised toward a 15- to 20-minute fireworks show set to begin at dusk.
The barges are being loaded at Captain’s Quarters Marina near Antioch and will be hauled out to the center of Fox Lake, Michael said.
“Everything else went really smoothly this year,” she said. “It’s our fourth year doing it, and every year it gets a little easier. But it’s worked out really well. It should be a good show.”
The fireworks show is expected to be especially busy because four other Independence Day fireworks events in Lake County — Antioch, Wauconda, Mundelein and Round Lake Area Park District — were postponed due to heat and drought conditions that raised concerns about a fire risk.
Because the Chain O’ Lakes fireworks are fired over water from barges in the center of the lake, there are no worries about the event being hampered by dry conditions.
“We launch the barges straight out of Captain’s Quarters, to the center of the east side of the lake, which makes things easier for everyone involved,” Michael said. “Plus, there are a lot of viewing locations for everyone. This location is great.”
The best viewing sites from land are at Captain’s Quarters near Antioch and at Fairmont Shores and Electric Harbor in Lake Villa, she said. By boat, the best viewing locations are on the east side of Fox Lake, the Petite Lake sandbar, or Blarney Island on Grass Lake.
“You can really see them from everywhere,” she said. “By mixing it like we did last year, it opened it up for everyone to see.”
For more information or to donate to the show, check out the website at keepthesparkalive.com