CITY LOOKING FOR SPONSORS FOR JULY 4 FIREWORKS DISPLAY

Cape Girardeau could get a fireworks display for the Fourth of July if the city can find some sponsors.

The Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau has said it would fund a display up to $10,000 but is seeking help from area businesses and civic groups.

"The more help they get the bigger the show could be," said City Manager Michael Miller.

Bids for the fireworks display are being accepted until 3 p.m. today. Contracts should be awarded and approved by the city council next month.

There hasn't been a decision on where the display might be, whether at a park or downtown by the riverfront, said Terri Clark-Bauer, CVB director.

"We hope the fireworks will be an annual display," she said, adding that it won't include any games or vendors.

There isn't an event per se since it's just a fireworks display after dark, she said.

No festival

Clark-Bauer is still trying to line up sponsors for the display. The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce has committed up to $1,000 toward the fireworks display, said John Mehner, president and chamber CEO.

Fourth of July fireworks displays are held each year in Jackson, Mo., and Oran, Mo., but Cape Girardeau hasn't had the turnouts those cities get.

There has been no summer festival planned in the city since the Riverfest was canceled last year. The annual event had been a tradition for 21 years with its vendors, outdoor strolling bands and craft stands.

But there weren't enough donations to hold the two-day event, which costs between $75,000 and $80,000.

VFW Post 3838 had sponsored the Fourth of July events in Cape Girardeau until 1989 when the celebrations were canceled. They were renewed in 1996.

"All these years we've been putting it on and spending as much money as we have, we couldn't get people out," said Pete Rhodes, manager at the VFW Post 3838 canteen.

There hasn't been enough interest or volunteers to help with a citywide picnic and fireworks display, Rhodes said.

"We could get people out after dark but they thought the city was paying that bill."