WATERLOO (KWWL) -
For years, the Waterloo and Cedar Falls Jaycees each hosted a night of July fireworks in their respective cities. But, this year, partially due to safety issues, a big change is coming.
The Waterloo and Cedar Falls Jaycees will combine their efforts for back-to-back nights of fireworks, free concerts and a carnival on the National Cattle Congress grounds July 6 and 7.
It's being billed as the Jaycees Fireworks Festival, and it's all free.
All of the new construction in downtown Waterloo has created a fire hazard for fireworks displays, says Jaycees Fireworks Festival chair, Agnes Kress. That means The Waterloo Jaycees traditional fireworks site downtown is no longer available during the construction period.
"Fireworks are expensive," Kress said. "The distance from an acceptable location downtown would have made it impossible to earn the needed revenue from concession sales in the Expo area."
Steve Breitbach of the Cedar Falls Jaycees says the decision was a difficult one. Breitbach says, but, after seeing the many recent improvements made at Cattle Congress with modern, indoor bathroom facilities and all the space needed for a large crowd with parking, it seemed like a much easier decision."
Breitbach went on to say, "Bringing both (Jaycees) chapters together gives us a chance to put on the size of show that is more deserving of communities with our population."
Parking will be provided at Cattle Congress, and there will be a ‘preferred' parking lot very close to the center of the Jaycees Fireworks Festival.
The two day event will feature several free concerts from banks like Head East, Winger and Florida Georgia as the headline bands.
You can comment on the Jaycees Fireworks Festival on Facebook.
