SAUGATUCK, Mich. — Like a handful of others communities in West Michigan, the city of Saugatuck will not have fireworks on the Fourth of July, but the show isn't canceled, it is just delayed to a later date in 2021.
The Saugatuck/Douglas Rotary Club organizes and pays for the fireworks show. After having last year's celebration canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, and speaking with city leaders, the club decided to move the fireworks to September 10.
The city and Rotary Club plan to use the fireworks to commemorate 20 years since 9/11, plus honor first reponders and frontline workers for protecting the public during the pandemic.
The fireworks will make for an extended weekend in Saugatuck, as the Rotary Club hosts its biggest fundraiser, the Mount Baldy Challenge on September 11. It is a off-road trail race that travels along the Lake Michigan shoreline, including Mount Baldhead.
"We are as disappointed as anyone who might hear that July 4 is going to be postponed," Rotary Club President James Sullivan told FOX 17. "But as a next best alternative, what better way to honor and to heal, which is the theme of the Mount Baldy challenge this year, honor those people who keep us safe in any emergency, and to come together as Americans and heal the way we all need to."
There is a chance Saugatuck could still see some kind of celebration on the Fourth of July. A local business owner wants to raise money to put on a show. The City Commission says they don't have the money to pay for fireworks, so funds would have to be donated for any display.
